Pressure on Parker to deliver against Chisora
New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker is literally fighting for his future as he looks to renew his lucrative deal with Matchroom Boxing.
Parker takes on Britain’s Dereck Chisora in Manchester on May 2 in a contest that has huge ramifications to his career.
The fight is the last of Parker’s three-fight deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom outfit.
That original deal, believed to be worth around $6 million, was signed in late May, 2019. Injuries and the Covid pandemic stretched it out to two years with Parker only fighting and beating Alex Leapai and Shawndell Winters in two contests in the United States. His last win, over fellow Kiwi Junior Fa in Auckland, was independent of the Matchroom deal.
Chisora is by far the biggest fight for Parker under his British bosses and has heaped pressure on him to get a good win to push his cause for an extension.
‘‘Depending on how this fight goes, we can renew,’’ Parker told Stuff from his training camp in Morecambe, north England, yesterday.
‘‘It will be dependent on the result and if they still want me. So I have to put in a good performance, I have to win.’’
Despite a quiet couple of years, Parker has stayed relevant in a heavyweight scene that has been hijacked by Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. He is No 3 with the WBO and No 6 with the WBC and IBF, keeping him contention for title fights which remains his driving ambition.
Parker will let his New Zealand manager David Higgins sort out negotiations and weigh up his current situation against any other options. But Parker is keen to stay with Matchroom if he can.
‘‘They are one of the best in the world to work with ... very honest, they put on great shows, they are fair to their fighters,’’ Parker said.
‘‘I will leave that to David to decide, but I think Matchroom for me, would be the one to sign on with again.’’
Having transferred his training from Las Vegas to Britain where he has started with new coach Andy Lee, Parker’s current situation might increase his appeal to Matchroom in the world’s sporting environment where situations can change in an instant because of Covid.
Parker confirmed to Stuff that if he can beat the durable Chisora, his preference would be to fight again quickly, meaning he would stay in Britain to build on his blossoming relationship with Lee.
‘‘If I can win and get a [new fight contract], I don’t see the point in coming back [to New Zealand],’’ Parker said, feeling the constant long-distance travel was detrimental to his performances.
‘‘I’ll just stay here and keep training. I’ve got a good set-up … Tyson Fury will let us train at his gyms wherever we need. It would be more sensible to stay here to train, stay in tune and keep improving.’’
The only downside to that right now is another lengthy spell away from his family. Having just spent almost 18 months with them – the longest stay in New Zealand since his professional career began in 2012 – Parker is once again basing himself on the other side of the world.
‘‘It’s something I have to do. My family have let me come here to fulfil my dreams, to train hard and try to be champion of the world again. But I know my kids [he has three young daughters] are starting to think, where is my dad?’’