Who Will Joseph Parker Fight Next?

By James Slater - 06/29/2022 - Comments

Promoter Shalom Says Joyce, Wallin, Franklin, Wilder, Whyte All Possible For September

As fans know, former WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker, last seen beating Dereck Chisora via decision for a second time, recently signed a deal with Ben Shalom’s outfit BOXXER, the New Zealander to now fight on Sky Sports.

This came after a deal had, in principle, been agreed for Parker to fight Joe Joyce. Since Parker signed the deal with Shalom there has been back and forth stuff between Parker and Joyce, with Joyce saying Parker is ducking him, and with Parker saying the fight can still happen.

Joyce returns to action this Saturday in a tune-up-type fight against Christian Hammer, but Parker has not yet got a fixed opponent for his next fight. We fans hope a Parker-Joyce fight can and will still happen, and Shalom, in speaking to Sky Sports, says the fight remains Parker’s priority. However, there are other names in the mix as far as Parker’s next fight, tabbed for September.

“It was the first fight Joseph Parker wanted to make, he wanted to make it clear he wasn’t ducking Joe Joyce,” Shalom said. “It’s been well-documented we’d love that fight and we hope that might still happen.

“If it’s not going to happen, we’re looking at everything. We’re looking at [Otto] Wallin, we’re looking at [Jermaine] Franklin, we’re even looking at Deontay Wilder now he’s back in the mix and perhaps the rematch with Dillian Whyte.”

Though the Joyce fight is the one we fans want to see Parker take – as it was seemingly all done, with us getting excited about it, and what’s more a handshake agreement should count for something, even in today’s world – either of the above match-ups would be interesting to see.

Will Wilder come back, and if so, would he choose Parker as his first fight back? Franklin is a good fighter yet he hasn’t got that big of a profile. Wallin, who wants to fight Wilder himself, would be a good test for Parker.

And Whyte, who will soon be looking at returning after his KO loss to Tyson Fury, would likely feel he could beat Parker a second time (Whyte having won a close, exciting decision over Parker a few years back).

If I were a betting man, I’d place money on Whyte getting the fight with Parker next. Shalom says Parker will be back at the end of September. I can see it now: Whyte Vs. Parker II in London.

And who wins if this fight is made?

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