Parker home, plots comeback
Joseph Parker had headed back to the grind.
The Kiwi heavyweight has arrived back in New Zealand after losing his WBO belt to Anthony Joshua, and declared he is determined to return to training immediately as he looks to bounce back from the first defeat of his professional career.
‘‘When does training start? Tomorrow,’’ Parker told reporters at Auckland Airport on Wednesday. ‘‘I want to go for a run. Now that I’m in good shape I don’t want to waste it.’’
‘‘This is not the end. This is just the beginning. We lost the fight to a better man on the day but we’ve still got a lot to learn and we’ve still got a lot to give. I want to be involved in big fights and we’re excited for what is to come.’’
After analysing the defeat, Parker said he would spend the coming weeks plotting his next fight, though time with family and teaching trainer Kevin Barry to catch snapper appear to be top priority.
‘‘I’ve been dying to see my daughter for a while now, so I’m going to go home to see her and my partner, and go fishing,’’ he said.
‘‘I told Kev I’d take him out on the boat and show him how to catch some snapper and maybe dive for some kina.
‘‘It’ll be something to take my mind off boxing but I also want to maintain training. I think training every day will help. Now that I’m in great shape, why lose it? I want to maintain it and be prepared for whatever comes.’’
Parker remained coy on whether he would fight on the undercard of a potential unification bout between Joshua and American Deontay Wilder.
‘‘It’s whatever our team decides. Whatever makes sense. First we need to discuss that as a team,’’ he said.
After holding his own against Joshua in the cauldron of an 80,000-strong crowd at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Barry said the plan was to return to the big stage as soon as possible.
‘‘We’re going to get back there fast. I’m going to sit down with [promoter] David Higgins and Joe some time over the next week, we’ll do a debriefing on this whole event and we’ll put a plan in place straight away to get Joseph Parker back where he should be; at the top of the division,’’ he said.