Frank Warren Reveals His Honest Score for Joshua Buatsi vs. Zach Parker: ‘I Thought He Won’
Promoter Frank Warren has given his assessment of the controversial and largely lackluster fight that took place between Joshua Buatsi and Zach Parker last Saturday.
The pair faced off in a light-heavyweight encounter at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, headlining a Queensberry Promotions card stacked with several other domestic offerings at 175 pounds.
But while many eagerly awaited the return of the 20-1 (13 KO) Buatsi, who hadn’t fought since his thrilling fight against Callum Smith in February, they were ultimately forced to endure 10 rounds of minimal action.
After dropping a unanimous decision to Smith, the 32-year-old was under considerable pressure to not only take care of business, but also defeat Parker, 26-2 (18 KOs), in convincing fashion.
The likelihood of that happening seemed to get slimmer and slimmer as their fight progressed, because instead it was Parker who suddenly looked poised to pull off a complete points victory.
Utilizing his nifty moves and unpredictable counter-attacking prowess, the Derbyshire man certainly found his rhythm quicker than Buatsi, who could seemingly never sustain his attacking efforts.
So it was a big surprise when it was announced that two of the judges, Marcus McDonnell and Salvador Salva, had reached a 96-94 verdict in favor of Buatsi.
Both of those scorecards counted on judge Grzegorz Molenda’s overall thinking 95-95, leaving Parker in a state of disbelief as he stormed out of the ring.
Queensberry boss Warren, meanwhile, was one of many spectators who marked the fight in favor of the 31-year-old.
But the veteran promoter also criticized Parker’s habit of going to the ground whenever Buatsi entered the pocket, while referee Michael Alexander, on the other hand, seemed to have little problem with this rule infraction.
In an interview with BoxNation, Warren said:
“I thought Zach won it. I thought he won it by a few rounds.
His tactic was basically to punch and run – and I understand that – but it wasn’t very exciting.
I don’t think Josh [Buatsi] went well and their styles did not mix. The times when he [Parker] He kept dropping to his knees – he did it several times during the fight – I don’t think it went down well with the judges.
This may be one of the reasons why they suggested the opposite. This shouldn’t be the case, but that’s what happened.
Parker was also in danger of having a point taken away for excessive clinching, but again, referee Alexander did little to referee the issue.
