Hearn wants Parker to fight Chisora

Mega British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is keen for Joseph Parker to return to Britain’s booming boxing scene and fight veteran Dereck Chisora on a night of huge heavyweight clashes in London.

Parker fought twice in Britain last year, suffering the first losses of his career to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in damaging defeats which saw the Kiwi boxer lose his WBO title and slip down the stacked list of strong heavyweight contenders.

The 26-year-old, whose professional record is 25 wins and two losses, finished last year with a comprehensive third-round knockout victory against Mexican Alexander Flores in Christchurch and his next bout could be back in Britain.

Hearn said ‘‘big things were in the pipeline’’ for an April 20 card at London’s 02 Arena, the venue where Parker lost a thrilling encounter to Whyte on the Brit’s home patch last July.

‘‘I would quite like to make [Dereck] Chisora against Joseph Parker [happen] for that card as well,’’ he told Boxing Social. ‘‘We’ll see where that goes over the next few days.’’

Hearn is the promoter for British stars such as Joshua, the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO world champion, and Whyte, who was Chisora’s last opponent in London last December.

Chisora, 35, was beaten by Whyte via an 11th-round knockout in that clash, the second fierce fight he lost between the two bitter British rivals.

The Zimbabwe-born Brit’s professional record is 29-9 and he scored an impressive eighthround knockout win against Carlos Takam on the undercard of Parker’s points defeat against Whyte, making him a dangerous opponent because of his power and durability.

Parker would be favourite and Chisora’s loss to Whyte effectively ended his hopes of a world title fight in the twilight of his career, but he has consistently propelled himself back into the heavyweight conversation with gritty, battling wins.

Facing Chisora would no doubt be tough and it would be good exposure for Parker back in Britain, although the fight wouldn’t be the main event of the proposed April 20 card.

Hearn said the headline bout would be Whyte against either Dominic Breazeale, Alexander Povetkin or Luis Ortiz.