Zach Parker defeated Mickael Diallo in a dull contest on the undercard of Derek Chisora-Otto Wallin at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
Parker, now 26-1 (18 KOs), was due to face fellow domestic light heavyweight Willy Hutchinson but the Scotsman had to withdraw just days before the contest. Up stepped the 21-2-2 (18 KOs) Diallo on short notice, and he gave a good account of himself.
How Parker, aged 30, previously made 168lbs is a mystery; his huge physical size advantages were clear to see as the two men locked horns in the opener. Parker dictated the action behind his stiff left jab, but Diallo, 33, returned fire when he could. The fight seemed to spark to life in the third after Parker landed a hard right hand that Diallo angrily responded to. The Frenchman seemed frustrated with himself and pressed forwards, albeit with limited success.
The Frenchman continued his pressure in the next session and had a good round, cutting Parker over his right eye. Diallo continued to grow in confidence at the beginning of the fifth and Parker seemed a little frustrated. He switched southpaw in the hope of having more success but it failed to make much of an impact. Parker started better in the sixth, landing his jab but appeared happy to hold on to Diallo as he came in to land his power shots.
Parker’s eye continued to worsen, and in the seventh it was clear that it was troubling him. In the eighth the fight finally caught fire. Diallo fired in several powerful hooks to the head of Parker and he slumped to his knees. It was ruled not a knockdown by the referee, so Diallo decided to taunt Parker as he climbed to his feet. Parker responded by firing back and caught Diallo with a thunderous right hand which shook the Frenchman to his boots.
Parker pressed forward in an attempt to finish the job, but Diallo held firm and was able to see out the round. Unfortunately the dramatic nature of the previous round did not continue in the ninth. Parker landed his jab but rather than follow it up with anything elected to hold instead. The tenth followed a similar pattern and Diallo was frustrated with both himself and the tactics of Parker at the final bell.
Parker started celebrating as the scores of 98-92, 98-93 and 97-94 were read out in his favor. However, he had impressed few with his showing.
Before Parker’s win, Zach Miller had defeated the previously unbeaten Masood Abdulah in a much more entertaining fight for the British and Commonwealth featherweight titles.
Miller, now 16-1 (3 KOs), started the better of the two, putting in a disciplined opening round; fighting off the back foot well and landing two good right hands. Miller continued his good start in the second, boxing well behind his high guard and seemed to gain Abdulah’s respect after another couple of right hands landed.
Abdulah, now 11-1 (7 KOs), was struggling to cement his authority in the contest. The big-punching featherweight just couldn’t land anything noteworthy, and towards the end of the third was cut by a left hook from Miller. The cut seemed to spark something in Abdulah. He pressed the action with more urgency in the fourth and was able to land some telling shots to the midsection of Miller.
Miller, 27, dealt with Abdulah’s pressure well in the fifth, using every inch of the ring to evade his attacks before throwing his right hand to counter. The sixth was hard to score but it was Abdulah, aged 31, who landed the more eye-catching shots of the two. In the seventh, Miller was unable to move as much as he was able to in the earlier rounds. Miller held his feet and punches with Abdulah, and although it played into the Londoner’s hands, he landed a fair few shots of his own.
The eighth was incredibly close and your scoring of it depended on what you liked best: Abdulah’s pressure or Miller’s discipline on the backfoot. Abdulah looked as though he had started to begin feeling the pace of the fight in the ninth, falling short with his punches and gasping for air in the clinches. Miller remained disciplined, keeping his shape and making the sloppy Abdulah pay.
Miller started to push the pace in the tenth and brought the fight to the tiring Abdullah, pinning his man on the ropes and landing he a clean right hand before the sound of the bell. Heading into the championship rounds, Abdulah sensed the fight was slipping away and picked up the tempo. He would come lunging in to land his powerful right hand but was countered well by Miller.
In the twelfth Miller cemented his victory, countering Abdulah, who was desperately attempting to land something to flip the script. Miller fell to his knees at the sound of the final bell and awaited the inevitable decision. Miller’s heart was in his mouth as the first score of 114-114 was read out and two further close scores of 115-114 and 115-113 made Miller nervous. But he was ultimately crowned British champion moments later.
The cards were a little too close but the right man won.
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