Right now we are seemingly no closer to seeing a deal made for a fight between rival heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker. As fans know, Parker and his team have been going all-out to try and get the fight made; even hosting a quite bizarre press conference where video was shown of Joshua suffering knockdowns at both amateur and pro level.
Joseph Parker
Joshua-Parker negotiations still stalled
WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker’s promoter David Higgins says IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is still quibbling over a few percentage points in the negotiations for a fight in early in 2018.
Joseph Parker going all-out to get Anthony Joshua fight; offers rematch clause
WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker really does seem to be doing all he can do to make the unification showdown with WBA and IBF ruler Anthony Joshua. The unbeaten New Zealand warrior has offered to take a 35-percent split of the fight purse, to Joshua’s 65-percent, and now Parker has proposed the placing of a rematch clause in the contract.
“@AnthonyJoshua, doesn’t a 65-35% between two unbeaten champions sound fair? Nearly double our share. Don’t worry a rematch clause is there in case you’re worries about your chin. #NoExcusesNow #NeverBeenDropped,” Parker wrote on twitter a while ago.
Anthony Joshua-Joseph Parker fight “close,” Hearn says he’s hopeful for next spring
It’s looking quite likely how rival heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker could meet next spring. As fans may be aware, WBO champ Parker and his team have pressed very hard for a unification fight with Joshua, the WBA/IBF ruler – this week holding a quite bizarre press conference where footage was shown of AJ being troubled and knocked down in fights; a “reward” offered to anyone with video evidence of Parker being decked at any time – and it seems Joshua has bitten.
Joshua expects to be grouped with Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson if he beats Wilder and Parker
IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is ready to put himself in the same class as boxing greats Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson if he can beat champions Deontay Wilder [WBC] and Joseph Parker [WBO] next year. Joshua feels he’ll be mentioned with those greats when/if he defeats Parker and Wilder.
Will it be Joshua-Parker or Joshua-Wilder next?
It’s all down to the money side of things now. This is certainly how it looks, anyway. Deontay Wilder, as relentless as ever with his calling out of rival heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua – now telling BBC Sport he will come to England to fight “little girl” Joshua if he has to do so – wants to fight, as he puts it “ASAP.”
Joshua too says he wants the fight, but Wilder is not so sure AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants it: “I think Eddie is ducking more so than Joshua,” the WBC ruler said. So, as the two sides argue over the cash split (Hearn is, as we know, extremely reluctant to give Wilder anything close to a 50-50 split) WBO boss Joseph Parker enters the scene in a major way.
Joseph Parker-Lucas Browne possible for March; Team-Browne accepts offer
Joseph Parker, like just about every other active heavyweight on the planet, wants a big fight with Anthony Joshua, but the reigning WBO champion is looking at other options in case a deal cannot be made for a unification clash.
And according to Australia’s Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne, Parker cold face him next, in March, in what would be a big deal over in that part of the world. Browne, who has suffered the ignominy of being labelled a drugs cheat not once but twice, has boxed once since returning from suspension, and he is now happy with the offer Parker has presented him with for the fight that would see Browne engage in his second world title fight.
Joseph Parker: The “Other” Heavyweight Champion
Just like the middle child or the last pick for the dodgeball game, WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker finds himself in a very precarious position as the forgotten heavyweight champion. Often overlooked, undervalued and disregarded, Joseph Parker is not as revered as his champion counterparts Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder. Even non titleholders such as Kubrat Pulev and Jarell Miller generate more buzz than Parker. With Joshua having defeated Carlos Takam by 10th round stoppage and Wilder set to rematch Bermane Stiverne on November 4th. The world is already beating the drums for a Wilder vs Joshua showdown. Both fighters seem to want the fight as well. However there is no real mention of Joseph Parker. His last fight was a majority decsion victory over Hughie Fury. What can Parker do to raise his profile and secure a big fight?
Team-Parker liked what they saw in Joshua-Takam battle, more convinced than ever Joseph beats AJ
It can often prove to be a tricky assignment facing a late replacement foe after having spent weeks training to prepare for another fighter with totally different physical dimensions coupled with a different fighting style, and WBA/IBF heavyweight ruler Anthony Joshua found this out last night in Cardiff.
Joshua got the job done in the end, winning practically every round before stopping (via terribly premature stoppage) a game Carlos Takam, but the critics have come out in force nonetheless. Expected by almost everyone to have a relatively easy time of things with Takam (who replaced an injured Kubrat Pulev) Joshua instead had to dig deep, take a few shots and find his second wind. As a result, the AJ critics have offered some harsh words.
If only – A Heavyweight WBSS Tournament
Fans are currently enjoying the exciting, the-best-fight-the-best, World Boxing Super Series tournament; or to be fully accurate, we are enjoying two ongoing WBSS tournaments; the one at cruiserweight as well as the one at super-middleweight.
So far, both eight-man elimination tourneys have gone smoothly and we have seen some great action fights along with some crunching knockouts – and the thrilling finals are still to come, in the first quarter of 2018.