Joseph Parker is looking to use his recent win over former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder last December as a springboard for a big fight in March in Saudi Arabia.
Parker’s one-sided twelve-round unanimous win over Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) was a shot in the arm for his stalled-out career, which had been doing nowhere since losing his WBO heavyweight title against Anthony Joshua in 2018.
March target open options
Parker’s promoter, David Higgins, wants him back in March in Saudi Arabia, and he feels that he’s done enough with his win over 38-year-old Wilder to earn a rematch with Joshua in that month.
If not AJ, Higgins wants the best possible name. Agit Kabayel (24-0, 16 KOs) would be an ideal option for Parker, as he wiped out previously unbeaten Arslanbek Makhmudov (19-1, 17 KOs) in four rounds in the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card on December 23rd in Riyadh.
Higgins doesn’t want the 31-year-old New Zealander Parker to return to fighting lesser opposition, as he’d been doing since being knocked out in the 11th round by Joe Joyce in 2022.
Parker has taken enough tune-ups in the last six years to last time a lifetime, and he can’t afford to keep doing this. Since 2018, Parker has fought nine confidence-booster fights and just two solid opponents, Joyce and Wilder.
“For me, it was the best performance of Joseph’s career,” said Higgins to Sky Sports. “The reason I say that is because those massive, global, pay-per-view fights have a special pressure about them; the eyes of the world are upon you and against his opponent, a murderous puncher, one of the most feared in history.”
The Joshua Dream
With Parker & Joshua both planning on fighting in March in Saudi Arabia, it makes sense for the two to meet in a rematch. Parker is arguably a better choice than two of the opponents being considered for AJ’s next fight, Francis Ngannou and Filip Hrgovic.
The way that Parker lost to Joshua in 2018, not being able to get to him due to the referee pulling him apart each time he got close enough to punch. It was a strange fight.
Eddie Hearn didn’t sound keen on using Parker as Joshua’s opponent, as AJ gains less.
If Joshua fights Zhilei Zhang, there will be millions of Chinese that will watch the fight, and it would create huge interest worldwide. Fighting Filp Hrgovic would give Joshua a chance to capture the vacant IBF title.
