Dillian Whyte vs Joseph Parker: The ‘Body Snatcher’ wins by decision and calls out Anthony Joshua
The Brixton man survived a dramatic late scare to secure another big win in his quest for a world title
Dillian Whyte weathered a twelfth-round storm to beat Joseph Parker by unanimous decision in the main event on Saturday night, live on talkSPORT.
The heavyweight clash produced fireworks as the pair exchanged knockdowns, but the Brixton man ultimately emerged victorious at the O2.
In the opening round, Parker started fast. His speed and footwork troubled his opponent, who struggled to get into a rhythm early on.
However, the tide turned in the second as Whyte scored a controversial knockdown, which appeared to have actually been caused by a clash of heads.
This offset the New Zealander and allowed his hometown foe to find his groove.
Dillian Whyte proceeded to drag Joseph Parker into a rough fight, as he outmuscled his man in the middle rounds.
Parker had trouble dealing with Whyte's physicality and began to fall behind on the scorecards.
In the ninth, the 30-year-old Brit scored a second knockdown of the night, with no doubts lingering this time.
As the pair got in close, Whyte thudded home a short left hook which saw Parker drop to the canvas.
With Whyte holding a substantial lead and time running out, it appeared the bout was all-but over.
Nevertheless, Joseph Parker had other ideas and rallied to hurt Dillian Whyte in the eleventh before delivering a stunning straight right hand which caused the Brit to take a knee amid three minutes of hell in the twelfth.
Whyte made it back to his feet and desperately clung on until the final bell. A sound which delivered massive relief to his fans at the O2 Arena.
Soon after, ring announcer Michael Buffer declared Dillian Whyte a unanimous decision victor, with scores of 113:112, 115:110, 114:111.
“I’m just annoyed I messed up at the final hurdle,” said Whyte in his post-fight interview.
“I was down, I got rocked, I took a knee, I got up and I’m learning.”
Parker reacted in typical classy fashion, giving due credit to his conqueror: “He put up a great fight in front of his home crowd. He’s still learning and progressing, same as me.”
When asked what he wanted next, the triumphant ‘Body Snatcher’ made it clear who he is targeting.
“I’d like to fight Anthony Joshua again in the rematch,” Whyte declared.
AJ is next out against Alexander Povetkin on September 22, live on talkSPORT, but his planned fight date after that is already set for April 13.
Deontay Wilder is Joshua’s preferred opponent for April, however promoter Eddie Hearn has previously listed Whyte as a potential backup plan.
“If he wants it, he can have it. I will be ready. One more fight in between would be great,” concluded Whyte.
On the undercard, Dereck Chisora scored a dramatic KO against Carlos Takam and Katie Taylor stopped Kimberly Connor to defend her world titles.
Earlier in the night, Conor Benn won his rematch with Cedrick Peynaud, Joshua Buatsi demolished Andrejs Pokumeiko and fan favourite Dave Allen scored an upset KO of Nick Webb.