Former Kiwi heavyweight Shane Cameron has hit out at British boxer Hughie Fury's title-fighting credentials and 'boring style'.
In an interview with Radio Sport's D'Arcy Waldegrave, Cameron said Joseph Parker's decision win over Fury on Sunday morning was 'terrible and ugly' due to the challenger's defensive, awkward style.
"I'm not sure why they took the Fury fight," said Cameron. "I'm looking at Fury and I'm thinking 'how the hell did he get a shot at a world title?'
"He was 20-0 but he's fought no one and he's in the fight for a title? Unbelievable. I was 19-0 with 18 knockouts, against better opponents than he's fought. He's obviously got better connections than we did at the time."
Parker was awarded a 118-110 victory over Fury by two of the ringside officials in the WBO heavyweight world title fight, while the third judge scored it a draw. The 118-110 verdict meant that the judges scored ten of the twelve rounds in favour of the winner.
"My initial reaction was 'I'm not sure if he's going to get the decision'.
"When you're fighting in Fury's hometown, they have a lot more control over the decisions, that's just the political side of boxing. If it's close, like it was, my gut feeling was they're not going to give it to the champ.
"I had Joseph ahead on all cards. Joseph performed the best he could, but I know what it's like to be in the ring with guys who don't really want to engage. Fury's style is just so terrible and boring and long and Joseph showed the grit and determination to do whatever it took to win.
Cameron said Team Parker need to be careful about selecting an entertaining challenger for the champion's next fight.
"Parker's the champion so he should be calling the shots now. I hope they don't take another fight out of New Zealand, they don't need to. But styles make fights, and that style made a boring fight. Any fight that Fury's involved in is a boring fight.
"Parker needs to fight someone who comes forward, like the British guy Bellew. That'd be a fight I'd love to see. His team need to match him better to better display his skills."