John Parker (boxer)

John Parker (born 8 April 1994) is a New Zealand professional boxer. He is the younger brother of Joseph Parker.
Amateur career.
As an amateur, Parker had a relatively short career with an estimated record of thirty wins and five losses. He began under the tutelage of Grant Arkle and had his first amateur fight at 11-years-old whilst training at the Papatoetoe Boxing Club. Parker was a highly regarded domestic amateur, with his biggest achievements being two-time New Zealand national light heavyweight champion. He won the junior division in 2010 defeating Rehe Waiti, and had a close contest victory against Eric Finau in 2012 to take out the youth division two years later. Parker was also a three-time North Island Golden Gloves champion in 2010, 2011, and 2012, predominantly winning every national tournament he entered in. His last amateur fight was at the Auckland championships.
Professional career.
Parker made his professional boxing debut on the undercard of brother Joseph Parker's main event against Alexander Dimitrenko at the Vodafone Events Centre on 1 October 2016. He returned after five years away from the sport due to a wrist injury and commitment. He fought fellow countryman, Ratu Dawai from Christchurch over four rounds at a catchweight of 85 kilograms. Parker won by majority decision, with one judge scoring it a draw. In just his second professional fight he extended his winning record with a unanimous points decision over Ash McConville. Parker won all four rounds after he landed more punches than his opponent and impressed with his jab. He then improved to three consecutive wins and maintained his unbeaten streak with a unanimous decision rematch win over Ratu Dawai the following year.
In early February 2018, Parker was announced to fight on the undercard of heavyweight unification bout between Joseph Parker and Anthony Joshua at the Principality Stadium in Wales. He was then scheduled for a tune-up fight in Motueka against Luke Oakes in a four-round exhibition contest.