Joe Parker (23-0, 18 KOs) successfully defended his WBO heavyweight title this morning at home in New Zealand against late replacement Razvan Cojanu (16-3, 9 KOs) of Romania. Parker was originally supposed to fight Hughie Fury who dropped out about two weeks before the fight.
Despite the win, Parker did not look great. He fought pretty safely and seemed unable to really hurt an opponent who four fights earlier was stopped by journeyman Donovan Dennis in two. It was not the exciting performance that will have people clamoring to see him in a bigger bout, but it was a win and he still has his belt. Cojanu spent a lot of time taunting, but he didn’t really try to mount much offense until too late into the fight to matter.
It remains to be seen whether or not the mandatory defense ordered by the WBO against Hughie Fury will be rescheduled or if Parker will be allowed to move on to something else next. Afterward both Tony Bellew and Dillian Whyte called him out on twitter, while recent David Price conqueror Christian Hammer is the highest ranked WBO contender besides Hughie Fury.
