Joshua Beats Parker on Points

At the Principality Stadium, in Cardiff, Anthony Joshua added the WBO belt to his collection.

The British heavyweight now holds the WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO world heavyweight titles, the only belt not yet in his possession is the WBC belt held by the brash American Deontay Wilder.

Ahead of the fight, the pundits predicted that the unbeaten Parker would provide Joshua with the stiffest test so far of his career.

However, Joshua executed his game-plan perfectly and took the decision on points, with all three judges awarding the verdict to the fighter from Watford by a big margin, with the score-cards reading:

? 118 ? 110

? 119 ? 109

and

? 118 ? 110

The victory was the first time Joshua had been taken the distance, in his professional career, however, with Parker having never been down on the canvas let alone stopped, Joshua was correct to showcase his boxing skills rather then try and take his man out and risk being tagged by the powerful Kiwi himself.

Joshua?s plan to keep Parker on the end of the jab worked perfectly with the 28-year-old controlling the centre of the ring with ease.

Parker looked a little hesitant and didn?t really start to land any meaningful punches until the middle rounds, but Joshua, coming in at his lightest weight for six fights, used his superior footwork to stay out of trouble.

Whenever the boxers came too close together, with both looking to mix it up inside, the referee was too quick to step in and break it up, a ploy that probably suited Joshua more than it did Parker.

At the sound of the final bell, Joshua, along with the 80,000 inside the Principality Stadium, knew the Brit had added the WBO belt to his already extensive selection, there might have been no knockout, but Joshua showed, when the need arises, he is a pretty smart boxer and has learned a lot since turning professional.