Tag: Shawndell Winters

Joseph Parker returns with 5th-round knockout of Shawndell Winters

Joseph Parker returned from an extended layoff to defeat Shawndell Winters with a fifth-round knockout in Frisco, Texas.

Joseph Parker is done itching his spider bite. He’s now itching for a big fight.

The Auckland, New Zealand native returned from an eight-month layoff to knock off Shawndell Winters inside five rounds at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco Texas on the undercard of Mikey Garcia-Jesse Vargas. 

Late in Round 5, Parker staggered Winters badly with a right hand and followed up with a right-left hook-right combination that decked Winters to the canvas for the second and final time in the fight.  Referee Rosario Solis waved off the fight at the 2:40 mark.

Parker (27-2, 21 KOs) was originally scheduled to face British contender Dereck Chisora last October but a freak spider bite led to that fight’s cancellation

“A win’s a win,” Parker said afterward. “You gotta take the win and I’ll leave it up to (promoter) Eddie (Hearn) and the team to lock up another fight soon.”

Parker scored the first knockdown of Winters (13-3, 12 KOs) late in Round 3, Winters would survive and go on to have himself a decent Round 4, in which he landed a left hook that opened up a cut over Parker’s right eye. The Illinois native also caught Parker clean with a slew of uppercuts and hooks on the inside.

But Parker would have the final say, responding emphatically in Round 5.

“I have to work on being a bit more patient and making my punches more meaningful,” Parker said.

The Kiwi heavyweight noted he is still interested in facing Chisora, who is scheduled to go up against Oleksandr Usyk later this summer, or having a rematch with Dillian Whyte.

“I want to keep busy and hopefully get two more fights this year and finish off with a bang later this year,” he said.

Joseph Parker hopes to put bite on Shawndell Winters on Feb. 29

Heavyweight Joseph Parker is scheduled to face Shawndell Winters on the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card Feb. 29 in Frisco, Texas.

Joseph Parker envisions a second world title. That’s the ambition. But to get there he has to start anew while also avoiding any rematches with dangerous insects. He might be the only heavyweight in history making a comeback from a spider bite.

It looks as if a spider did what no heavyweight has to Parker. It put him down and knocked him out of the heavyweight division’s title mix. He was forced to withdraw from a scheduled bout with Derek Chisora in October when he began to feel ill and fatigued. It was determined that he was suffering from the venom of a poisonous spider

But the poison is gone and the ambition is back as Parker resumes his quest Feb. 29 against Shawndell Winters on a DAZN card featuring welterweights Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas in Frisco, Texas.

“It was frustrating to be ruled out of the Chisora fight in October, especially in such an unusual way,’’ Parker (26-2, 20 KOs) said after Matchroom Promotions announced the fight this week. “But I have been on fire in the gym in Las Vegas and we’re ready to get back to business. The division is moving at a great pace and this is a perfect opportunity to show the world that I am one of the elite players in the division.’’

Parker won a heavyweight belt in a majority decision over Andy Ruiz Jr. in December 2016 at home in New Zealand. He defended it twice. Then, he lost it in a decision to Anthony Joshua in March 2018 in Cardiff, Wales. A few months later, 2018 just got worse for Parker, who lost a decision to Dillian Whyte in July in the U.K. He went on to win two bouts. But the road back went awry by something unforeseen. Nobody saw the spider.

In Winters (13-2,12 KOs), Parker faces an unknown heavyweight from Harvey, Illinois. Twelve knockouts in 13 victories indicate he has power.

“This is the biggest fight of my career and I am going to make it count,” said Winters, who is promoted by Lou DiBella. “I am used to being the underdog. It’s something that I thrive on, and if Joseph Parker underestimates me, he’s going to be in for a bad night, because I am going in there to take him out.’’