New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker after defeating Andy Ruiz Jr. Photo / Photosport.
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker after defeating Andy Ruiz Jr. Photo / Photosport.
Is Joseph Parker the Mr Invisible of world heavyweight boxing?
That may be the fast-dawning conclusion for Duco Events, manager of the 24-year-old Mangere-born fighter who claimed the WBO's vacant heavyweight belt by beating Andy Ruiz Jr in Auckland last Saturday night.
Boxing permutations twist and turn more than aslippery politician. And Duco skilfully exploited them to gain Parker one of the four belts in the global heavyweight scene far earlier than many predicted.
Now that Parker has that belt, he has credibility....or that's what the plan was anyway.
It is becoming painfully obvious in the call-out world of boxing that Parker is not even a blip on the radar of the biggest names.
IBF world champion Anthony Joshua didn't even mention Parker in extensive interviews with British media outlets on his 2017 dance card.
Britain's IBF Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua fights American Eric Molina. Photo / AP.
The powerful 28-year-old Briton has repeatedly listed Wladimir Klitschko (a bout now set for London's Wembley in late April), WBC champion Deontay Wilder and David Haye as his three big fights for next year.
Duco's David Higgins told Sky Sports UK yesterday that Parker wanted to start the process of unifying the heavyweight division by taking on American Wilder.
A win to either would give the victor two of the four available belts and make them an attractive target for Joshua in a full unification bout worth considerable money (the WBA belt is currently vacant).
Higgins has even offered up the prospect of a Parker-Wilder fight being the main undercard bout to Joshua-Klitschko at Wembley.
But it seems no-one's listening.
Wilder is saying today that he wants to fight Joshua and that is his priority. Provided he gets past Klitschko, a fight against the unbeaten Wilder would appeal to Joshua.
Would it appeal more than a fight against Parker?
The fact Parker is not even being talked about by the other belt-holders suggests the WBO doesn't carry much credibility within the heavyweight ranks.
So where does that leave the emerging Kiwi?
Probably fighting mid-ranked boxers interested in his belt - for at least the next couple of years anyway.
Some would say that's the best thing for him right now at this stage of his career.
