‘Sickest I’ve been’ but Parker denies falling to Covid virus

Kiwi heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker has confirmed he was not among those who contracted Covid19 in camp with Tyson Fury, although he did fall ill around the same time.

Parker had been in camp with Fury ahead of Fury’s WBC world heavyweight title defence against American Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas on July 25. However, the fight was postponed earlier this month when members of Fury’s team contracted Covid-19, with a new date set in October.

Speaking to the Herald, Parker said he did not test positive for the virus.

“I felt pretty sick,” he said. “I had two tests and they came back negative, but with some of the symptoms I had, it felt like I did have Covid.

“It was probably the sickest I’ve been for a while, but the tests came back negative, so I don’t know. I can’t say I did have Covid, because it wasn’t positive.”

Finishing the camp and supporting Fury in his bout was the latest of Parker’s plans to be derailed by the pandemic, with hopes of finding a mid-year bout scuppered by the backlog of fights needing to be held.

Parker last fought in May, when he claimed a split decision win over Derek Chisora in a tight contest. The win was his fifth straight, and his first outing under new coach and former middleweight world champion, Irishman Andy Lee.

After that fight, Parker and Lee immediately said they would be open to a rematch given how close it was on the scorecards, and Parker said it was looking likely the rematch would take place before the year’s end.

“We’re looking at fighting some time in November,” Parker said.

“There were a few options on the table, but I find it’s a little hard to lock in fights. There are guys like Dillian Whyte who I wanted to fight, but I feel like he’s busy and doing something else.

“There’s [Oleksandr] Usyk and [Anthony] Joshua fighting each other, Tyson Fury’s fighting Wilder. There are fights out there to be made but it’s a little bit difficult to make, so the only fight at the moment that is looking likely would be Chisora.

“I’m down to take any fight there is. I’m down to fight any fighter that’s keen to fight, it just has to make sense in terms of climbing the ladder and getting closer to fighting for a world title.”

The former WBO world heavyweight champion said the rematch against Chisora was ideal to see how much he has improved under the tutelage of Lee and working alongside Fury — who said before their initial meeting that Parker would have to question his place in the sport if he couldn’t beat Chisora.

“It was a close fight,” Parker reflected. “It was very good to get the win, but I feel like there’s a lot of learning I can do on my side.

“I feel like on Derek’s side, there’s not so much learning that he can do. I feel like there’s one way that he fights and there’s one way that he approaches a fight — and that’s applying pressure and throwing big bombs.

“I think if I continue to work with Andy and continue to learn, continue to surround myself with guys like Tyson Fury and the team that Andy and I have and Tyson has, I feel like I can improve and get better.

“The big tell will be in a rematch with Derek Chisora to see if there’s any improvements, or if I need to stop boxing and do something else.”

It was the sickest I’ve been for a while, but the tests came back negative, so I don’t know.

Joseph Parker