Parker: I’ll be back

Beaten Kiwi eyes rematch

Joseph Parker is eager to set up his next fight quickly as he looks to bounce back from the first loss of his professional career.

The 26-year-old lost his WBO belt to unified champion Anthony Joshua in Cardiff yesterday but made it clear he wants to start the rebuild with urgency.

‘‘I want to set up another fight and come back strong,’’ Parker vowed.

‘‘We worked hard to get here, we all deserve a break to get home and spend some time with our families.

‘‘Once that’s done and once we are relaxed, we want to set up another fight straight away, we have an awesome year ahead.

‘‘We are still young, we’ve still got lot of time. We fought good, he was the better man on the day. But we will be back. I have to take it on the chin.’’

Parker said he would be keen on getting in the ring with Joshua again at some stage but that doesn’t look likely any time soon.

Joshua made it clear that WBC champion Deontay Wilder is his

next target as he looks to add the final belt to his world title collection and become undisputed champion.

Parker’s promoter David Higgins believes his fighter is still a valuable commodity in the division and feels the UK is the most viable option to try to fast-track him back up the rankings.

Higgins said he was impressed

with the way Parker was dealing with the defeat.

‘‘Some people get broken, he’s very philosophical,’’ Higgins said.

‘‘The chins are up in our dressing room – there is not a funeral.

‘‘I think the UK fans and media respect Joseph for the way he fought and what he brought. So we will be back.

‘‘Eddie Hearn and I get on

really well. There will be an opportunity to speak to Eddie about matching Joseph against one of the other British heavyweights perhaps, the likes like Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury if he’s getting fit.’’

Higgins felt being the first fighter to go the distance with Joshua and end his run of 20 consecutive knockouts needed to be

acknowledged. ‘‘I don’t know what it would take to put Joseph down – he has still never been dropped,’’ he said of Parker’s game performance.

Trainer Kevin Barry felt now wasn’t the appropriate time to be talking about the next fight.

‘‘We just finished quite a big challenge. I’m pretty proud of this young man beside me,’’ Barry said.

PHOTO: PHOTOSPORT Joseph Parker cops a left to the face from Anthony Joshua during their unification title fight. ‘‘I have to take it on the chin,’’ the New Zealander said of his defeat.