Joseph Parker’s promoter, David Higgins, is hoping to get his fighter in position to fight the Dillian Whyte vs. Derek Chisora winner in 2019.
Parker (24-2, 18 KOs), a former WBO heavyweight champion, is back in action on December 15th when he faces Alexander Flores in New Zealand.
The former champ is looking to bounce back after suffering back to back decision losses, to unified beltholder Anthony Joshua in March and then Whyte in July.
Against Whyte, Parker made the mistake of starting too slow and was forced to rally down the stretch. He came very close to knocking Whye out in the twelfth and final round.
Last Saturday night in Manchester, a potential new player in the heavyweight division had emerged - when WBO, WBA, IBF, WBC cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk knocked out Tony Bellew in the eight round.
Usyk is now expected to move up in weight in 2019.
In the aftermath of the Bellew contest, Parker's name was mentioned by several insiders as a potential foe for Usyk - as a "test the waters" fight in the heavyweight division.
But Higgins does not see an "economic sense" in facing Usyk.
"Usyk, he's got more work to do, to build a fan base in the UK. What I mean by that, Joshua has got a gigantic fan base, he'll fill stadiums, Dillian Whyte has proven that he can fill The O2 Arena. Usyk, very impressive and clinical, but I think he's got to string together more impressive victories and build a fanbase before the fight makes economic sense," Higgins told Sky Sports.
"From our perspective, no question Usyk is elite, but fighting the winner of Whyte-Chisora would make probably more economic sense, but also there is unfinished business. I believe Joseph, on his day, would beat Chisora or Whyte."
2023-10-22 06:05:32
