Joseph Parker has explained his dismay over the performance of the referee during his defeat to Anthony Joshua in Cardiff on Saturday night.

Joshua unified the WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF belts by unanimous decision at a packed Principality Stadium in what was a largely underwhelming fight, with Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone being suggested as one of the major causes.

Quartarone was widely criticised by commentators, pundits, and fans alike for stepping in too soon on a number of occasions just when the fight was heating up.

As a result, spectators witnessed an often attritional, disjointed contest that Joshua eased through.

New Zealander Parker and his team have since expressed their disappointment at how the Italian referee handled the fight, but refused to blame his officiating for the outcome.

"We're not blaming the ref," Parker explained during his post-fight press conference. 

“But when we were on the inside and trying to work, he [motions to separate them]. We tried to communicate with the ref, but he didn’t really speak English. But I wanted to work on the inside. I guess if I was on the inside, I could’ve done more and could’ve thrown a bit more punches."

Parker's camp has since highlighted that the language barrier was a major issue during the fight, something that Joshua's camp disputed.

“Look, obviously when one guy’s got a 76-inch reach and the other guy’s got an 84 or 85,” Joseph's trainer Kevin Barry said, “it’s very important for us, when we do close the distance, that we’re able to work. And unfortunately for us, the referee didn’t allow us to do that.

"I tried to speak to him when he came out of the back, and he had no idea or understanding of the question I asked him … yeah, because of the language.

“I knew he was from Italy, but I obviously expected that we’d have a guy that would actually be able to communicate with both the two participants fighting. And when I found out, I actually said to the [British Boxing Board of Control] beforehand, I said, ‘Well, this is going to be great. How am I going to be able to communicate with the referee, the guy in charge of the fight?’ He said, ‘Oh, he’s a very good referee.’ I said, ‘OK.’ ”

Like Parker, Barry admitted that Joshua was better in the fight and deserved to win.

David Higgins, Parker’s co-promoter, didn’t blame Quartarone’s controling approach for Parker’s defeat, either.

“The referee stuff was interesting,” Higgins said.

“Apparently the commentators, the English commentators, they were getting frustrated with the ref pulling the guys apart. But our team signed off the referee. I won’t use that as an excuse. Would we sign him off again? No.”