Joseph Parker is looking lean and mean. The former WBO heavyweight champion tipped the scales at 239.9 pounds for his scheduled 10-round bout against Faigo Opelu, who came in at 214¾ pounds during Tuesday’s weigh-in. The pair will meet Wednesday evening in a Main Event Pay-Per-View from Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Joseph Parker Dropping The Pounds
Parker (31-3, 21 KOs) last checked in under 240 pounds in March 2018 when he lost his world title to then-undefeated, unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. He has weighed 240 pounds or more in his past eight bouts, including a career-high 255¼ pounds for his September 2022 fight against then-unbeaten Joe Joyce.
The 31-year-old Parker, of New Zealand, is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision win over Jack Massey on January 21 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, where he weighed in at 245¼.
Opelu (15-3-2, 11 KOs), a Samoa native based in Australia, takes on the stiffest challenge of his career.
The 29-year-old is 2-2-1 in his last six, including a seventh-round knockout loss to former heavyweight contender Lucas Browne in December 2021. He rebounded with a stoppage win over previously unbeaten Hemi Ahio on the undercard of the Devin Haney-George Kambosos rematch last October 16 in Melbourne.
Joseph Parker subsequently fought countryman Kris Terzievski to a fluke technical draw on March 25 in Flemington. In that fight, Opelu floored Terzievski with a right hand before inadvertently tripping and stepping on his opponent's ankle, rendering him unable to continue.
Joseph Parker (left) won an unimpressive decision over Jack Massey. He is 31, though…There is in theory time for him to get back on that earlier track. Photo: Boxxer
Another Son of Tszyu Doing Battle
In the chief support, Nikita Tszyu (5-0, 4KOs)—the son of Hall of Fame former junior welterweight king Kostya Tszyu and younger brother of junior middleweight contender Tim Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs)—will face countryman Benjamin Bommber (5-0, 4 KOs) in a scheduled six-round contest.
Tszyu weighed in at 153.9 pounds, while Bommber was initially 1 pound over the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds before coming in at 153¼ on his second attempt.