Jack Massey's valiant effort against Joseph Parker wasn't enough as he was beaten by unanimous decision after going the distance.
Massey walked out to cheers from the crowd at the AO Arena, with a home crowd hopeful of seeing an upset from the hometown fighter. He started well, landing a great shot in the first round which could be heard around the arena and drew loud cheers, it was an unexpectedly confident start from Massey which extended into the second round before Parker managed to take some control.
The smaller fighter, Massey was always likely to have to out-box his opponent as he made the step up from cruiserweight but it was Parker who took the initiative in the early rounds. However, in the fifth round Massey appeared to gain confidence as the fight began to go longer than many pundits predicted.
ALSO READ: Follow Eubank Jr vs Smith live fight night updates here
With Parker remaining patient, Massey was able to survive the full ten rounds. He landed some good shots of his own in the process but was understandably on the back foot against the former heavyweight champion Parker.
There were congratulations for Massey from his corner following what was an extremely impressive display from a fighter who has endured an awful lot in the past 12 months.
He made the step up from cruiserweight look comfortable tonight and in ten tough rounds it was always going to be hard to emerge victorious against Parker.
The scorecards are as follows
96-93
97-92
97-93
READ NEXT:
