Boxing Live: Joseph Parker defeats Faiga Opelu through first-round knockout to raise his professional record to 32-3 and further his quest for a matchup with a prominent figure in the heavyweight division.
With Tyson Fury present at the Australian ringside, Joseph Parker defeated Faiga Opelu in the first round to get his first stoppage victory in three years.
The former WBO heavyweight champion improved to 32-3 as he decisively defeated his opponent, taking another step towards rejoining the top fighters in the category.
Parker was engaged in his first fight since defeating Jack Massey in Manchester by unanimous decision back in January.
After the bout, Parker remarked, “I’d like to thank Django [Opelu] for taking the fight and giving it his all.
“Anyone who is interested may keep me occupied wherever. All I want to do is battle.”
When Parker lost to Joe Joyce in the eleventh round by knockout in September, it dealt a serious blow to his world title aspirations and put him on the outside looking in for the heavyweight frontrunners.
“I’d want to see him fight maybe a rematch with Andy Ruiz, a rematch with Joe Joyce, or perhaps a rematch with Dillian Whyte or even AJ. “Joseph Parker is back on the map!” said Fury.
Prior to beating Opelu, his most recent stoppage came in a fifth-round TKO victory over Shawndell Winters in February 2020. He then defeated Junior Fa and Derek Chisora twice through the split and unanimous decisions in 2021.
He completed the task in 86 seconds, which was his fastest victory since August 2015, when it took him just 63 seconds to defeat Bowie Tupou.
Opelu attempted to bob and weave but was hit repeatedly before turning around and collapsing to the ground.
The referee helped Opelu get off the ground and into a corner before declaring the quick one-sided battle over without even beginning to count.
While Fury has said he would sooner give the Kiwi his belt than fight him, this was Parker’s most recent move towards re-joining the division’s elite names. Parker improved his record to 32-3.
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