WBO heavyweight title: Hughie Fury v Joseph Parker

Summary

Joseph Parker beats Hughie Fury on majority decision to retain WBO heavyweight title
Two judges score it 118-110 for Parker, other has it 114-114
New Zealander Parker has 24 wins from 24 fights
Fury's first defeat in 21st fight
Fight takes place at the Manchester Arena

Live Reporting

Michael Emons and Nate Williams

Postpublished at 22:57 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Round 2: Parker v Fury
Parker tries to gain the centre ground in the ring, with Fury forced on to the back foot early in round two. Not too much landing from the big New Zealander though.
Image source, Reuters
Postpublished at 22:55 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Round 1: Parker v Fury
David Price
Former British heavyweight champion on Radio 5 live
Great first round for Hughie Fury. He looks more comfortable and he's confusing Parker with his movement.
Postpublished at 22:55 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Round 1: Parker v Fury
If that first round is anything to go by, then it well be a messy, but attacking contest. More attacking came from Parker, maybe the cleaner work from Fury. Depends what you look for in a round.
Postpublished at 22:54 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Round 1: Parker v Fury
Fury lands with a couple after an early error from Parker. It gets the home fans on their feet early on as they cheer their man on to hopefully become a new world champion.
Image source, Reuters
Postpublished at 22:53 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Round 1: Parker v Fury
A couple of ungainly lunges in from Parker, looking to make his mark early in round one. Parker then gets a telling off for punching to the back of the head. Fury happy to pop out that right jab.
Ding, dingpublished at 22:52 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
The referee is Marcus McDonnell. He replaced Terry O'Connor, who had been originally pencilled in. Here we go.
Tale of the Tapepublished at 22:50 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Parker v Fury
On paper, both these men are unbeaten in the ring but the scales tell us some differences, which may have an effect on the outcome of the fight.
Parker is the heavier man by almost a stone (17st 7lbs) and is slightly shorter than 23-year-old Fury, who is two years younger than the Kiwi.
The young challenger from Manchester is two inches taller (6ft 6ins), has a longer reach and is awkward, much like his cousin Tyson.
This is a case of size versus skill and makes for a very interesting match-up.
Image source, BBC Sport
Swagger....published at 22:49 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Luke Reddy
BBC Sport boxing reporter at Manchester Arena
Image source, .
A confident swagger from Joseph Parker. His trainer Kevin Barry entered the ring like this was strictly business.
Both of these men have had good amateur careers remember. Fury is far from a KO specialist. So this could last a while. Hopefully not as long as those anthems as I'm going on holiday in a week.
'A great opportunity'published at 22:48 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Remember, we are live on BBC Radio 5 live and you can listen along via the play button at the top
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post
Here comes Parkerpublished at 22:47 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
And now it is Joseph Parker's turn. It's like the start of an All Blacks match with the sound of the haka filling the arena before Parker heads out of his dressing room.
He is dancing around, not exactly looking too concerned. This is also a good chance to show what he is capable of to the British fans.
A win and a good performance tonight, then a potential unification fight with Anthony Joshua could be happening some time in the future.
Image source, Reuters
What's the score?published at 22:44 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Parker v Fury
Luke Reddy
BBC Sport boxing reporter at Manchester Arena
Image source, .
Now I do love this.
Recent events in Las Vegas have soured boxing a tad with controversial scoring during Gennady Golovkin's draw with Saul Alvarez coming to the fore.
So organisers tonight include a page in the £8 souvenir programme for you to score along.
A few here are sipping beers so I'm not too sure what their judgment will be like come the main event.
Image source, .
Here comes Hughiepublished at 22:43 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
And here comes Hughie Fury. Tyson Fury is there in the background, shouting some words of encouragement.
Sing and sing and sing and....published at 22:41 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Parker v Fury
Luke Reddy
BBC Sport boxing reporter At Manchester Arena
Image source, .
I've lost count of how many national anthems we are having.
Botswana next....
Will Fury's inactivity prove crucial?published at 22:39 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post
Easy opponents?published at 22:38 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Parker v Fury
Luke Reddy
BBC Sport boxing reporter at Manchester Arena
Joseph Parker is a slight favourite tonight. It's close though.
One issue people have had is gauging the quality of the opponents each of these men has faced.
It's far from scientific but I've had a dig into numbers. In 20 fights, Hughie Fury's opponents have had a combined 240 losses.
Parker - in 23 fights - has faced men who have lost a combined 108 times. Has he proven a lot more without us giving him the credit for it?
get involved
Get Involvedpublished at 22:37 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
#bbcboxing
Keith Bryan: Should be an intriguing fight. Don't think either can mix it with AJ but they both will get a shot I'mm sure regardless of tonight.
Postpublished at 22:35 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
And it is time for the national anthems. Won't be long before we get going.
'A great opportunity'published at 22:34 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
BBC Radio 5 live
Former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price is ringside for BBC Radio 5 live tonight.
He said: "Hughie Fury's only 23 and still inexperienced but it's a great opportunity for him to win a world title tonight."
get involved
Get Involvedpublished at 22:34 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
#bbcboxing
Wayne Ellis: Parker's a fraud. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he loses tonight, even to a limited Fury.
Brawls in and out of the ringpublished at 22:32 British Summer Time 23 September 2017
Parker v Fury
Luke Reddy
BBC Sport boxing reporter at Manchester Arena
Image source, .
We've had a fight in the crowd which resembled a battle scene in Braveheart. I'm guessing a dozen or more involved, stewards dotted among them trying their best. It boiled over, calmed and then boiled again for a good five minutes.
It's a shame because at the same time in the ring we had a good ding dong going. Bantamweight Don Broadhurst eventually stopping Josh Wale in the 11th to become the first man from Barnsley to ever defend a British title.