Parker keen on Bellew for
WBO champion says victory over British heavyweight would be good way to establish himself in UK after his
For Joseph Parker, the morning after the night before had him spending time with family, including baby daughter Elizabeth, and fielding messages of support, including one from Englishman Tony Bellew, whom the New Zealander would love to fight next.
The feeling is mutual after Parker was forced to go the full 12 rounds against Romanian Razvan Cojanu in the first defence of his WBO world heavyweight title, and it seems the only hurdle to a fight between the pair in the United Kingdom in three or four months is Hughie Fury’s claim as mandatory challenger.
Parker’s promoter David Higgins hopes to have clarity in terms of the next step for the 25-year-old in the next three weeks or so, which means Parker, who will spend about a month in New Zealand, is likely to have an opponent in mind when he returns to his Las Vegas base.
Parker’s inability to stop Cojanu at Manukau’s Vodafone Events Centre, or even hurt him, has critics emboldened and some of his supporters deflated, but Parker yesterday emphasised that while he was disappointed with his performance, which he rated a six out of 10, it would be foolish to judge him on it.
“I know I can do a lot better and I know I could have stopped him, but for some reason, it wasn’t clicking as well as it should have,” Parker told the Herald yesterday.
“A lot of people are going to question me — how I fight and what level I’m at — but it doesn’t really bother me. I know I can do a lot better — it’s a constant improvement.”
As predicted by Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry, Bellew immediately restated his intention to relieve Parker of his world championship belt, and Dillian Whyte, a heavyweight who was an analyst on the United Kingdom’s live broadcast of the fight, wrote: “I don't rate Joe Parker, please make this fight please please.”
To an extent, nothing really has changed for Parker. A devastating stoppage of Cojanu might have increased his profile slightly in the UK, and it would have been a confidence booster for him, but the key is the retention of his WBO world title belt; that’s what makes him a drawcard as far as fights are concerned.
“I’ll fight any of those guys,” Parker said. “If you’re going to rate me and judge me on that performance, then good. I look forward to jumping in the ring and showing them; hopefully in those fights, I click a lot better and throw a lot more combinations.
“We worked on a few things, including a bigger output, but for some reason, it didn’t happen. Maybe I was