Joseph Parker faces a critical decision on his journey back to a heavyweight title shot. Photo / Photosport
Joseph Parker faces a critical decision on his journey back to a heavyweight title shot. Photo / Photosport
After a dominant win over Derek Chisora in December last year, Joseph Parker is now faced with a critical decision as he maps his road towards another shot at a world heavyweight title. Liam Napier reports.
Joe Joyce or Andy Ruiz Jr. Gatecrash America or capitalise on his established UKpresence.
Joseph Parker is weighing enticing options as he attempts to cash in on his free agency status and target a mid-year return to the ring.
Emerging from knocking British veteran Derek Chisora down three times on his way to a dominant victory last December, Parker is maintaining fitness while in camp with Tyson Fury in Morecambe, Lancaster, as a decision on his next opponent draws closer.
Parker's long-time manager David Higgins is plotting options on opposite sides of the globe. With Parker satisfying his last one-fight deal with Matchroom, he is now a free agent which allows greater freedom to map his own path.
"It's an exciting time for Joseph Parker. He's in his best position commercially possibly of his career," Higgins said from Las Vegas where he is in discussions with a major casino chain to stage a possible Parker fight.
"The reasons for that are he had a dominant win over Chisora who is a big name in world boxing so Parker's brand equity is at an all-time high.
"Most importantly he's a free agent. This is the first time that's happened at the height of his career. Promoters are useful when you're young and need funding and regular fights. But when you're of age; proven as a pay-per-view draw and got a bit of money behind you, it's better not to have a promoter because it opens up the whole world.
"Promoters are tied to specific television networks so it can be quite limiting."
Joe Joyce celebrates victory against Carlos Takam in July last year. Photo / Getty
Parker is ranked No 2 with the WBO and, therefore, within swinging distance of another shot at a world title. But with Fury set to put his WBC crown on the line against Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk squaring off in their rematch for the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts, title aspirations won't be the only factor in determining Parker's next opponent for a fight likely to be in April or May.
"One blockbuster option is Joe Joyce who is ranked No 1 with the WBO," Higgins confirmed.
"That fight could well be given eliminator status which would mean the winner would be mandatory for a world title shot. British fans would love that. They would see it as a 50/50 fight. That would be a big pay-per-view show in the UK. The Frank Warren team have said they will make us a written offer in the next few days.
"If we don't like the offer, we'll turn it back on them and offer more for us to stage the show in the UK. Being a free agent enables you to take that sort of position. Being in control has value."
Joseph Parker beat Andy Ruiz Jr. to claim the WBO world heavyweight title in 2016. Photo / Photosport
The alternate route could see Parker venture to the United States and potentially fight out of Las Vegas. This week Parker called out Andy Ruiz Jr for a rematch of the WBO world title the Kiwi won via knife-edge split decision in 2016.
"Joseph is already a household name in Asia Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, UK. The US less so," Higgins said.
"Similarly to what we did in the UK it would be exciting to gatecrash the US market, take on a few of the big name opponents. Joseph is happy to fight any of them – Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz, Luis Ortiz, maybe Michael Hunter. We've reached out to all of them and waiting to hear back.
"I have to admit it's a bit different to the UK where there's common courtesy. You make an offer and you get a response. The US is a bit different. A lot of the US boxers seem to only want to fight each other. It's a bit like Gloriavale where you marry your cousin. It's a bit weird, but we're hoping one of them bites, and then the job is to model up the US versus the UK option.
"Ruiz has been calling for a rematch. Parker-Ruiz II in America would be a blockbuster in terms of ticket gate because Ruiz has a cult following after knocking Anthony Joshua out.
"Joyce is a slightly quicker route to the WBO title but the belts could be tied up for another year so we won't be making the decision solely on that. Ruiz has to be interested in the fight. There's been a lot of speculation but it's proving tricky to get a response from the American side."
