Parker to get shot at Whyte in London
Joseph Parker will face Englishman Dillian Whyte in a heavyweight boxing clash in London next month, a turn of events which could hardly have worked out better for the New Zealander.
Parker, the former WBO world champion who lost his belt to Anthony Joshua in Cardiff in April, will fight Whyte at the O2 Arena on July 28, with Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirming the bout last night.
It is a fight which has seemingly come out of the blue, with American Bryant Jennings initially the favourite to be Parker’s next opponent.
However, the Whyte fight is a great result for Parker, who was desperate for a high-profile, credible, opponent after his disappointing 12-round defeat to Joshua.
We’ve both been in with AJ — one of us ended the fight on our feet, the other didn’t. That pretty much speaks for itself. Joseph Parker
Higgins and Parker have made their way to London for the announcement of the fight.
Whyte has a big following in the United Kingdom, and especially in London, and the 20,000-seat arena would quickly sell out for a bout unlikely to go the distance. The
was ringside when Whyte stopped Lucas Browne with a brutal left hook that put the Australian in hospital a week before the JoshuaParker fight, and Whyte would be happy to trade blows with Parker.
“There’s going to be blood, pain and a knockout. I’m bang up for this,” Whyte, who has also lost to Joshua, said.
“He’s a good fighter but he didn’t show much courage against Joshua. Hopefully he’ll be a bit more adventurous and come to have a fight against me. I like challenges and I rise to them, this is a big fight and I’ll be training very hard as always.”
Parker hit back, saying: “We’ve both been in with AJ — one of us ended the fight on our feet, the other didn’t. That pretty much speaks for itself.
“He’s got a big mouth and says some funny things and he’s also highly entertaining in the ring.
“It’ll be an incredible fight. There’s no doubt about that.”
Apart from being a popular fight in terms of likely television pay per views, a victory for Parker would send him back up the rankings which is his main goal.
A win for either man would put him into pole position to challenge Joshua or Deontay Wilder, the WBC world champion, as Whyte is ranked the No 1 WBC challenger.
He is also No 3 with the WBO and No 4 with the IBF. Parker is ranked as high as fifth with the WBO.