Parker ‘not shy’ of Joshua title fight

Joseph Parker is prepared to fight Anthony Joshua next to unify the WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight belts.

Parker’s promoter David Higgins made that clear as the boxing world digested Joshua’s 10th round stoppage of Carlos Takam in Cardiff last weekend.

Higgins’ one condition remains a ‘‘substantial’’ increase in the split of the purse previously suggested by Joshua’s boss Eddie Hearn who has intimated an 80-20 cut in the big Brit’s favour.

After getting past the durable Takam, Hearn and Joshua targeted WBO champion Parker, WBC champion Deontay Wilder and sidelined star Tyson Fury as the fights they would chase in 2018. And they have a February 3 slot vacant at the moment.

Parker is about to go into a sixweek training camp in Auckland ahead of charting his own course over the early part of next year. But Higgins said they would change plans to fight Joshua in an instant, if the financials stacked up.

‘‘We’ve got various options and we are really close to one in particular, rather than Joshua,’’ Higgins told Stuff yesterday.

‘‘But we would fight Joshua next if the money is right.

‘‘We’re not at all worried about Joshua as a competitive threat. It would be a close fight but we won’t shy away from it. It’s a fight that Joseph would take and I’m sure his trainer [Kevin Barry] isn’t worried about. But the money has to be right.’’

Higgins feels Hearn isn’t showing the appropriate respect to Parker.

‘‘It’s disrespectful for the fact that Joseph has earned one of the credible heavyweight belts. So has Joshua, so it should be much closer to 50-50 than what was put on the table.’’

While Joshua showed his starpower by drawing more than 70,000 to Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium, his performance against Takam didn’t always match the occasion.