Higgins: Nyika could go far
potential. I think he could go a long way.’’
It’s understood Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry has touched base with Nyika to congratulate him on his Commonwealth Games efforts.
Parker was just 20 when he turned professional after missing out on the 2012 London Olympics and achieved a huge amount in a relatively short time as a professional with Duco, earning a world title a fortune.
At 26, Parker’s career is far from over, a point emphasised by Higgins who said his prize heavyweight had confirmed strongly he wants to fight again ‘‘as soon as is practical’’.
Parker is keeping fit as he awaits the next big moment in his life, the imminent arrival of his second child.
‘‘Joe’s goal is to keep in shape between fights rather than having to start from scratch.’’
That would be important for his next fight which could come as soon as July or August.
Higgins said the UK or New Zealand were the likely venues for Parker’s next fight.
‘‘We’ve got several options on the go,’’ Higgins said, confirming his earlier interest in Parker taking on either David Haye or Tony Bellew who fight their sequel this weekend in London. He felt that could sell out London’s 20,000 seater O2 Arena and provide a good pay day for both boxers involved.
Higgins said, as usual, it was about weighing up the risk and reward factors. That would also be in the thinking of any opponent for Parker given he had just gone the distance with Joshua, the first professional to achieve that.
Higgins was content with Parker’s ranking allocations since this first loss with most organisations putting him at No 5.
‘‘We are motivated at making another run at the world title but we have to be realistic . . . that’s prob- ably 18 months away at the earliest.
‘‘But Joe wants to fight regularly and put the foot on the accelerator.
‘‘We have shown that if you keep fighting, winning and paying the sanction fees the rankings take care of themselves.’’
Higgins felt Parker remained highly marketable in Britain on the back of his points loss to Joshua and that was the best international destination to concentrate on for the moment.
But the New Zealand market was still very relevant, especially with it backed by the strong support of the Australian TV audience where Parker rated well in pay-per-view numbers.