Steve Collins Matchroom Boxing. Alongside him was Paul "Silky" Jones, his sparring partner and good friend who later went on to become WBO light-middleweight title holder. Collins was trained by Freddie King in the Romford training camp. In 1994, he won a world title by defeating Chris Pyatt by stoppage in five rounds to become the WBO middleweight champion. The following year he relinquished this title without a defence and was having difficulty making the weight. Again as a substitute he moved up to super-middleweight to challenge Chris Eubank for the WBO title after Eubank's scheduled opponent Ray Close withdrew after failing
Joseph Parker (boxer) early October he had been negotiating an alternative WBO title fight against Andy Ruiz, suggesting he had a chance of reaching a deal with Bob Arum. He pointed out that WBO rules stated that the two best-classified contenders' will challenge for the title. Arum told "ESPN.com" that he was in talks with the WBO about making it for the vacant title. He also said his experience dealing with Parker and his team has so far been a pleasure. Parker became the first heavyweight boxer from New Zealand to win a world title as he won via majority decision. Two of