Former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew would love to get his hands on WBO heavyweight king Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs).
The fight was loosely discussed earlier this year, but Parker had a mandatory obligation to satisfy against Hughie Fury. And Parker won that contest, by decision, a few months ago in Manchester.
Bellew returns next month in his second heavyweight fight, when he takes on former champion David Haye in a rematch of their March encounter.
After Bellew pulled off a shocking upset win over Haye in March, he quickly focused on facing Parker in a world title fight.
Among the heavyweight giants, Bellew and Parker are very similar in size - and that's why Bellew and his team were gunning for a fight with Parker.
At the moment there are ongoing negotiations between the camps of Parker and IBF, IBO, WBA champion Anthony Joshua for a unification showdown in the first quarter of 2018.
Bellew is not giving Parker any shot to beat Joshua. He feels his Matchroom stablemate is way too much for the New Zealand star.
"If Joshua gets to Parker before me, the New Zealander’s reign will end. There’s no way Parker can compete with Joshua. I won’t tell lies, I like the fight with Parker, for myself. Parts of my team feel the same and then others don’t. But, I want to look at it," Bellew told Metro.
"I believe 100 percent I would beat Joseph Parker. And I’m not talking about running from him and outboxing him like Hughie Fury did in Manchester. Fury showed that Parker can easily be outboxed and heat clean, but he couldn’t put it all together against Parker. If Parker doesn’t walk forward all night, there’s no fight there. He walks forward and makes a fight of it all night long, but you can’t expect a fighter to walk into your big hits. Unless you’re the likes of Floyd Mayweather…
"Parker was landing on Fury, not much, but enough to win the fight. Fury will be frustrated because if he had thrown more leather, he could have won that fight. Parker is the name out there that everyone wants. Not that he isn’t good at what he does, I’m not underestimating him or trying to trash him. But, his size stops him from matching up with Joshua and Wilder. I do think he beats most of the other heavyweights in the world. His work-rate, chin and tenacity gets him past every other heavyweight, bar me – and maybe David Haye. I actually think Haye’s power and speed would see him stop Parker."
2023-10-20 00:19:25
