Joseph Parker wants Joyce, Whyte or Wilder next

By Michael Collins - 07/02/2022 - Comments

Joseph Parker is casting a wide net to try and land a big fish in his next fight by calling out Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder.

The former WBO heavyweight champion Parker (30-2, 21 KOs) had hoped to fight #1 WBO, #2 WBC Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs) next, but that match-up failed to happen after the New Zealander inked with BOXXER promotional company and is now fighting on Sky Sports.

Parker,  30, still hopes that a fight with Joyce can happen, and he’s urging the 2016 Olympian to resume negotiations. If not, Parker would like to face the recent world title challenger Dillian Whyte in a rematch.

Whyte beat Parker by a 12-round unanimous decision in 2018, taking advantage of his lack of aggression at that stage in his career.

Parker has changed a lot in the last four years since his defeat against ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte, and he now fights with a lot more fire in his belly.

However, it’s unclear whether Whyte, 34, will want to take a risky fight against Parker after the big payday he received in his sixth-round knockout loss to WBC champion Tyson Fury last April.

“The fight with Joe Joyce is a fight I’d love to make. But do you know what it comes down to? It comes down to egos. I know I’ve signed with BOXXER and Sky and Joyce is with BT and Frank Warren, but why can’t we make it happen?” Parker said to Sky Sports about his desire to make the Joe Joyce fight.

“There are many examples of other fighters that are signed with this team and signed with [another] team, they all come together and make it happen. Why can’t we make it happen? It’s a great fight.

“Why don’t we lock it in and actually fight?” said Parker.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the Joyce match-up is in the cards for Parker, so it’s best that he move on and focus on trying to get a rematch with Whyte.

That would be an interesting fight for Parker, and the winner would be in an excellent position to challenge for a world title against whoever gets their hand raised in the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua rematch.

Parker needs to stop fighting journeymen like he’s been doing lately, as it’s not getting him anyway. In Parker’s last two fights, he fought the 38-year-old Derek Chisora, and before that, he fought Junior Fa, Shawndell Winters, Alex Leapai, and Alexander Flores.

“There, top fighters, fighters like Dillian Whyte, Joe Joyce. We’ve given an offer to Deontay Wilder, but no one is taking the fight,” said Parker.

“I would absolutely love a rematch with Dillian Whyte,” said Parker. “I’ve been calling for this rematch since the first fight. Because I know what I can do if I fight him again. He won the first fight, great for him.”

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