Joseph Parker did everything he wanted except stop Derek Chisora in their wild rematch Saturday in Manchester, England.
Parker, the former heavyweight titleholder, battered his game opponent for most of 12 rounds en route to a unanimous-decision victory at Manchester Arena.
Parker (30-2, 21 KOs) defeated Chisora (32-12, 23 KOs) by a split decision in May.
The Kiwi was credited with three knockdowns and seemed on the verge of stopping his British counterpart multiple times but could never finish the job, a testament to Chisora’s toughness and determination.
And the 37-year-old “Del Boy” had some good moments in the fight, which made it difficult for the referee to stop the fight.
However, in the end, he couldn’t overcome the knockdowns on the cards. The final scores were 115-110, 115-111 and 114-112, which many will have believed were generous to Chisora.
With the victory, Parker, ranked by all four major sanctioning bodies, bolstered his position as a top contender.
Meanwhile, Chisora has now lost three consecutive fights to top-tier opponents, heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk and twice against Parker. All three fights were competitive, which should get him more opportunities.