Kiwi Parker being sized up by Bellew for title shot

Tony Bellew met Kiwi world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker for the first time and the English cruiserweight likes what he sees.

Bellew i s a charismatic Liverpudlian and WBC world cruiserweight champion whose fame went to a new level in March with his dramatic victory over heavyweight countryman David Haye. He believes Parker, the WBO world champion, i sn’t particularly big and that he would win should the pair meet in the ring. “If I fight Joseph Parker, he’s lost his heavyweight championship of the world,” Bellew said. “He isn’t big and I fancy it, without a doubt.”

Parker, who has been in Britain promoting his fight with Hughie Fury at Manchester Arena on September 23, would also fancy it, both for the huge payday and the profile it would give him. Should Parker beat Fury then the UK is where his future lies for the foreseeable future, with Bellew and stablemates Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua all in the mix.

Parker’s size is an important factor for the 1.91m Bellew, who has already ruled out facing the much bigger WBA and IBF champion Joshua and WBC champion Deontay Wilder. He acquitted himself well in the early rounds against a rusty Haye in their heavyweight fight in London before Haye ruptured an Achilles tendon in round six and was effectively fighting on one leg. Even so, it took Bellew until round 11 to finish the fight.

Also in the mix for Bellew is light heavyweight Andre Ward, a fighter considered one of the best pound- forbound boxers in the world, and a rematch against Haye. Bellew i s expecting to fight either Ward, Haye or Parker at London’s O2 Arena on December 16.

Any of those three fights would make the protagonists a lot of money. A plus for 25- year- old Parker, though, is the fact that he is a world heavyweight champion, has shown a willingness to fight in Britain, and has a promotion team on good terms with Hearn.

In another interview, Bellew modified his comments about Parker’s size, saying the South Aucklander was “exactly what I expected — Joseph is a unit, he’s a heavyweight. Listen, there i s no such thing as a small heavyweight. I am not small, he i s not small”.

There is no doubt Bellew’s confidence has been lifted ahead of a potential match- up against Parker. “It would make for a very good fight because he’s a ‘ come forward’ style fighter, I am a ‘ boxing’ fighter, so it has all the earmarks of a classic fight.”