Joseph Parker has shared the ring with so many top heavyweights including Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Derek Chisora.
Joseph Parker is currently riding a five-fight win streak, having beaten the likes of Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang among others.
After such an impressive run, the Kiwi has been afforded an IBF World Heavyweight title shot against ‘Dynamite’ Daniel Dubois with the two set to lock horns on February 22.
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Joseph Parker names Andy Ruiz as the hardest puncher he’s ever faced
Back in 2018, Parker attempted to dethrone Anthony Joshua for the IBF, WBO, and WBA World Heavyweight titles, and at the time, ‘AJ’ was widely considered one of the most powerful punchers in heavyweight history, accumulating 25 wins by KO over his pro career.
The Brit went on to pick up the unanimous decision victory as Parker absorbed the majority of Joshua’s best shots, suffering his first professional loss.
Then in 2023 after putting on some career-best performances, Parker took on ‘The Bronze Bomber’ for the WBC and WBA International Heavyweight titles, winning a unanimous decision. Wilder, like Joshua, is considered by many to be one of the most powerful punchers of all time, with a staggering 42 wins by KO.
However, despite having fought both terrifying power punchers, Parker has admitted that the fighter who hit him the hardest is Andy Ruiz Jr. The two met back in 2016 when Parker picked up a majority decision win.
“Joe Joyce dropped me, Dillian Whyte dropped me, Zhilei Zhang dropped me but the one that really left an impression was Andy Ruiz,” Parker told talkSPORT.
“Just because of the speed that he punches with, it shook me up. I was able to recover but he hit very hard. All of those guys hit hard but Ruiz stood out,” Parker continued.
Joseph Parker vs Daniel Dubois comes on one of the greatest boxing cards ever
When Parker and Dubois clash on February 22, they will be part of what is considered one of the greatest boxing events of all time, put together by the savior of the sport, Turki Alalshikh.
The heavyweight clash will be the co-main event to a huge rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Also on the card, Shakur Stevenson looks to defend his WBC World Lightweight title against the undefeated Floyd Schofield.
The winner of the heavyweight title fight will likely earn a big fight against Oleksandr Usyk after the Ukrainian teased that he would like to fight the winner following his recent win over Tyson Fury.