Anxious Parker waits to hear of future plans

Joseph Parker hopes a decision on his next fight can be made this week with the Kiwi heavyweight still hoping to take on Dereck Chisora.

Parker and Chisora had finally agreed terms to a London fight last month only for it to be abandoned at the last minute when a crucial phase of Parker’s training was hit by a spider’s bite.

Parker is now back in New Zealand, maintaining his fitness and eager to get back in the ring after a frustrating 2019 has seen him fight just once.

‘‘Joseph Parker is in a very hungry head space,’’ his manager David Higgins told Stuff.

‘‘We have been told we can expect firmer information about Joe’s next fight this week. He’s ready to go. He will be heading back into a full training camp on Boxing Day if things work out for a fight in February or March.’’

Parker is one bout into a threefight deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing which is now planning fight cards for the first quarter of 2020.

Higgins said the logical answer would be to resume intentions with Chisora given the complicated negotiations with the big Brit had finally been done before the untimely intervention of the spider that laid Parker low for around three weeks when he was in a sparring phase.

‘‘I think the commercial side of that is quite simple now,’’ Higgins said. ‘‘It’s just a question of where and when if Chisora really wants it.

‘‘The public reaction in the UK and New Zealand suggests it is a fan favourite and an obvious fight to do.’’

The complication now is that Oleksandr Usyk, who has stepped up to the heavyweight division after dominating the cruiserweight ranks, is the mandatory challenger for the WBO belt and that route offers Chisora a quicker road to a world title opportunity.