It is surely only a matter of time before Joseph Parker gets a crack at one of the big boys in the heavyweight division.
The New Zealander extended his career record to 21-0 (18 KOs) with his third-round stoppage of Alexander Dimitrenko in Auckland, and has regularly been one of the names in the mix in discussions of the next challenger for Anthony Joshua's belt.
That may have to wait, with talk of a meeting between Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko getting louder, but the main talking point over Parker's latest victory concerns suggestions he could have been disqualified.
The 24-year-old was dominant against his German opponent, but 'he was going to win anyway' is no excuse.
It appears as though Dimitrenko is down on one knee when the final punch in the clip below connects - and some are saying that by the letter of the law the wrong fighter was awarded the victory.
https://twitter.com/RingSide_TV/status/782303761771429888
Dimitrenko intends to protest the result of the bout, which takes his career record to 38-3 (with 24 of those victories coming by knockout).
"I am angry because I was down with my knee on the ground and he hit me. He pushed me (down) and then he hit me," he is quoted as saying by
Stuff.co.nz.
"I didn't see this punch. If you don't see the punch, it is even more dangerous.
And Dimitrenko wasn't the only one unhappy that Parker's actions went unpunished.
https://twitter.com/LoveIrishBoxing/status/782299906279084032
https://twitter.com/JacobTanswell/status/782300404126285824
https://twitter.com/eljmayes/status/782300882469662720
https://twitter.com/rangersrob46/status/782303341439254528
https://twitter.com/nffcdaft/status/782322626052100096
The victory is Parker's fourth of the calendar year, and the second in which an opponent's camp has had complaints after the fight.
The Kiwi scored a fourth-round KO against compatriot Solomon Haumono in July, only for Haumono's camp to claim referee Bruce McTavish shaved several seconds off the count.
