Joseph Parker's promoter Eddie Hearn says the New Zealand heavyweight has the talent to become a world title holder again and hopes to continue representing him after their deal expires.
Parker's fight against American Shawndell Winters in Frisco, Dallas, tomorrow is the second of three fights under the high-profile Englishmanand his Matchroom company and Hearn says he is eager to continue their relationship.
This is only Parker's second fight in 19 months after a spider bite forced him to pull out of last year's scheduled bout against Dereck Chisora in London. Parker's last fight was a victory over Alex Leapai in New York in June.
Joseph Parker and Eddie Hearn. Photo / Getty
"We'll be looking to extend that," Hearn said of his deal with Parker. "I don't really tie fighters down for five years or something like that. [Manager] David [Higgins] knows us well enough to know we're very honest. We always pay on time, we do what we say we're going to do.
"But if David felt we couldn't provide the right opportunities, maybe he would bugger off. But I think we have a good relationship and Joseph is important to our plans. He's capable of being a world champion again. I like him, I like Kevin Barry and I like Dave's madness.
Keep up to date with the day's biggest stories
Sign up to our daily curated newsletter for the day's top stories straight to your inbox.
Higgins confirmed he would test the market by talking to several promoters including Frank Warren, who represents new WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, before considering an extension.
Parker's early years as a professional until his WBO world title victory over Andy Ruiz Jr in Auckland in 2016 were marked by his frequent fights and the 28-year-old has spoken of his frustration at the stalling of his career.
He has watched as men such as Ruiz Jr, Chisora, Dillian Whyte, Alexander Povetkin and Kubrat Pulev have fought in high-profile bouts while he drifted out of the elite mix after his twin losses to Joshua and Whyte in the United Kingdom in 2018. Title holders Fury and Joshua are clearly out on their own in terms of profile and pulling power.
"It's been a frustrating period," Hearn admitted. "That Chisora pull-out was a kick in the nuts big time — not just because of what would have been an amazing fight but for Joseph's career and I felt it would have been the perfect fight for him.
"It was unavoidable. Knowing Joseph, he would have been gutted to do what he had to do.
"These big fighters are like jumbo jets and they're flying around the world and coming into land and if you miss your landing spot and your time, you have to go around in a circle again.
"This is a good fight for him to come back, a fight against someone who's going to try — someone who is athletic and can punch a bit as well. And then I think he has to come straight back with a fight in the [northern] summer."
Joseph Parker. Photo / Getty
Hearn, who is also Joshua's promoter, confirmed there was a possibility that Parker, ranked No 2 by the WBO, could fight Oleksandr Usyk, ranked No 1, should Joshua vacate the title to defend another.
Fights against Chisora and Povetkin and rematches against Whyte and Ruiz Jr were also possibilities. Chisora fights Usyk on May 23.
"He's in a great position, he just needs the momentum back," Hearn said. "It only takes one great performance, one good knockout to say 'Joseph Parker looked good, he's a threat to the division'.
"He doesn't need to prove anything to me because he's a great fighter and a good bloke and I'm behind him every step of the way. But … it can be easy for people to forget about you. It only takes one good performance to come back. Joseph Parker is extremely popular in the UK. People want to see him fight.
"Winters is coming off two good wins. He's a lot fresher and more dangerous than Alex Leapai, who was like a big rock that was hard to dislodge. He actually has to be a bit careful in this fight because Winters is a bit crazy. His team genuinely think he can knock Joseph out."
Joseph Parker v Shawndell Winters on the undercard of the Mikey Garcia v Jessie Vargas world title fight will be screened live on Sky Arena on Sunday. Parker's fight is scheduled to start at 2pm, and will be covered live on nzherald.co.nz.
Patrick McKendry travelled to Dallas with assistance from Duco Events.
