Boxing: Joseph Parker has another title shot in the wings but he must 'demolish' Junior Fa first: Eddie Hearn

Joseph Parker ahead of his bout against Junior Fa. Photo / Michael Craig

Hyperbole is the key ingredient that greases boxing's wheels, but one of the sport's most influential promoters says it is no exaggeration to say a destructive win on Saturday night will put Joseph Parker right back into title contention.

Matchroom's Eddie Hearn says along with Canelo Alvarez's WBC middleweight title fight against Avni Yildirim, Parker's stoush with Junior Fa will be the most watched fight of the weekend, particularly in the UK where "people are almost sycophantic in their support of Parker".

"They love him. They love him," he repeated, saying that Parker's willingness to fight the top guns in the UK, and his epic contest with Dillian Whyte (an unlucky loss), had swayed neutrals.

Parker is two-thirds of the way through a promotion contract with Matchroom, although this fight is being promoted independently by Duco due to the effects of the pandemic. That will not stop Hearn strapping himself in to a chair to watch what he believes will be one of the fights of the year.

"I know it's marketed as the battle of New Zealand, but if you look at it, it's just a really, really good heavyweight fight," he said. "Joe's defending his crown, if you like, against a really hungry young guy."

Hearn said while Fa will approach the bout like a man with nothing to lose, the opposite is true for Parker.

"A loss would be catastrophic for Joseph's career," he said, pulling no punches. "It will come down to his hunger... he has to demolish Junior Fa this weekend."

If he fulfils that end of the bargain, Hearn said it will be a busy year for Parker.

"He needs to fight three times this year," Hearn said.

Matchroom will parlay Parker's ("and, weirdly, David Higgins'") popularity in the United Kingdom into a high-profile, eyeball-harvesting fight with colourful Dereck Chisora, possibly as early as late-April.

If he wins those two fights, Hearn expects Parker's to be the mandatory WBO challenger.

Anthony Joshua, who is set to fight Tyson Fury for the right to be called undisputed world heavyweight champion, is the current WBO belt holder. Oleksandr Usyk and Joe Joyce are ranked two and three in the WBO and are due to fight this year.

Hearn says other potentially tasty matches for Parker, providing he keeps winning, include possible rematches with Dillian Whyte and/ or Andy Ruiz Jr. He said he believed Parker needed only "15 more seconds" to beat Whyte in their match and that his win against Ruiz Jr was "underrated".

"Joseph Parker is a cast-iron top 10 heavyweight in the world and I believe he's top five," Hearn said.

"If he struggles with Junior Fa, that [damages him]. He needs to make a statement."