WBO vice president: Joseph Parker deserved the win

Joseph Parker (left) and Hughie Fury in action. Photo / Photosport.

WBO vice president John Duggan has supported the decision to award WBO heavyweight Joseph Parker with a victory over British fighter Hughie Fury.

Duggan believed that Fury had no chance of having the result overturned by the WBO, and that Parker was a clear winner.

Duggan believed that the contest was a closely-fought bout, despite the inflated scorecards from the judges.

"I think he won the fight, I think he won a close fight. Just because the score was wide, doesn't mean it wasn't close," Duggan told Newshub.

"With the way boxing's scored you can have an extremely close fight, and have a boxer win every round by a close margin. That happens quite a bit."

Fury's promoter, Mick Hennessy, has deemed the result of the fight as controversial, even suggesting corruption was evident in the judge's scoring, and has stated an appeal will be filed.

Duggan said only the British Boxing Board of Control has the power to overturn the decision, which seems unlikely.

The WBO could force Parker to partake in a rematch if the outcome is considered irregular, but whether that will come to fruition also appears unlikely.

"I thought the score was regular, and I thought the 114-114 score was somewhat unusual," Duggan said.

"[Parker] deserved the win. He boxed courageously in a hostile environment."