It wasn’t pretty, but Anthony Joshua managed to record a victory over Joseph Parker on Saturday night in their heavyweight bout at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Joshua beat the New Zealander in their heavyweight unification bout and is now the IBF, WBA, IBO and WBO champion. However, at times it was a slog and there were no fireworks in the fight.
The British fighter took the early rounds, which were very cagey, before Parker came back into the bout, landing some shots and troubling his opponent. Joshua regained the initiative in the final rounds, but he was taken to the judges’ scorecards for the first time in his professional career, where he was awarded the win.
The fight never burst into life, and it wasn’t helped by the referee, Giuseppe Quartarone.
The referee was extremely fussy throughout, regularly stepping between the two fighters just as they were about to exchange punches. It was frustrating to watch and didn’t help the bout as a spectacle.
He also annoyed a lot of people watching at home, with some comparing Quartarone’s performance with that of Premier League referee Mike Dean.
This ref is having a Mike Dean.
— Alex Shaw (@AlexShawTel) March 31, 2018
For a fight of this magnitude, I don’t get the appointment of referee Giuseppe Quartarone, who is very limited in title Fight experience. It’s showing as he’s been far too intrusive. #JoshuaParker
— Jake Donovan (@JakeNDaBox) March 31, 2018
Didn't think I'd see a worse performance today than Borussia Dortmund at Bayern Munich. Referee Giuseppe Quartarone running them close. Being hammered, rightly, by @mauroranallo and co on @ShowtimeBoxing @SHOsports @SHOStats pic.twitter.com/lWiTtARsqA
— Mark Donaldson 🏴 (@DonaldsonESPN) March 31, 2018
Did Giuseppe Quartarone win a competition to referee this? Atrocious. #JoshuaParker
— Alex Wood (@AJ_Wood15) March 31, 2018
This ref should patrol the streets of Cardiff later. He'd stop a few fights out there.
— Paul Hayward (@_PaulHayward) March 31, 2018
This referee needs VAR.
— John Brewin (@JohnBrewin_) March 31, 2018
Time called in round 9 to remove dangling tape from Joshua's glove. Ref let him call his own timeout! Horrible referee. https://t.co/cDT158G0zI
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) March 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/WallStRique/status/980209274960928768
World class amateur referee #Break #JoshuaParker
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) March 31, 2018
Enjoying @DillianWhyte erudite analysis and concise summaries. "This referee is useless." 😂👍
— Jonathan Overend (@jsoverend) March 31, 2018
