Parker ready to get back in the ring
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker has flown to Britain, looking for a quick return to action.
Parker’s first stop is London where he will take in the action from this weekend’s heavyweight action at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where his good friend Tyson Fury defends his WBC belt against fellow Brit Derek Chisora on Sunday (NZT).
Parker, 30, will then relocate to Morecambe and link with trainer Andy Lee to start a camp at Fury’s gym facilities.
Parker’s promoters at Boxxer haven’t publicly confirmed an opponent or date, but he is expected to be in action early in the new year.
Boxxer have a promotion set for Manchester on January 22 (NZT) that is headlined by British middleweights Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith.
Parker is coming off the first knockout loss of his career, suffering an 11th round stoppage at the hands of Britain’s
Joe Joyce in Manchester in late September. It was just the third loss of Parker’s career, taking his record to 30-3.
The defeat didn’t dent his enthusiasm. Parker expressed a wish to stay busy, and it appears he has had that answered, adamant he can stay relevant in the division.
Parker should enjoy another decent pay day in a British market where he has earned a growing reputation after taking on most of their best heavyweights, losing close contests to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018, while winning two fights against Chisora last year.
Parker was competitive against Joyce before the giant Brit slowly but surely wore him down and eventually caught the Kiwi with a brutal left hook that put him to the canvas.
The loss hit Parker’s rankings hard, dropping him from No 2 to No 8 with the WBO where he is a former champion, and No 10 with the WBC.