Despite enjoying the best form of his career, heavyweight contender Joseph Parker is no nearer a championship fight.
Following back-to-back wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, the former WBO titleholder Parker has risen back up through the ranks. But with Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury set for a December rematch and Anthony Joshua possibly boxing Daniel Dubois in September, Parker is in a holding pattern waiting for a big fight.
“It doesn’t frustrate me. I do want those fights, to be honest – I’m just practicing patience,” Parker told “Seconds Out” podcast. “Whatever fight they put in front of me, I’ll take. I’ll fight anyone. And I have to keep proving that I know I’m the best. Whatever they put in front of me, I’ll take it, prove myself and move on to the next one. I do want to be involved with these big, big fights. Eventually it will come if I take care of business.”
The 32-year-old Parker (32-3, 23 KOs) has won his last six since a defeat against Joe Joyce. Parker’s two other defeats have come to other U.K. heavyweights in Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua, and he would like to rematch both.
He boxed Joshua with the IBF, WBA and WBO belts on the line in 2018, and lost a dull decision.
“I feel like we’ve both grown as fighters,” Parked said. “I have a lot more confidence with myself and I’m still defensive, but now I’m a lot more offensive. With Joshua, he’s coming off two good wins. He looks like he’s in form with [trainer] Ben Davison and he’s shown a lot more power, which is something I have to show myself. I think it will be a lot more aggressive fight; he won’t be looking for me and I won’t be looking for him, and I feel like it will be a lot more entertaining – a lot more punches thrown and a lot more punches landing on each other.”
Joshua would start as the favorite against Dubois, and both have scored impressive back-to-back wins, with Joshua besting Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou, and Dubois defeating the previously undefeated duo of Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic.
“You always give any fighter a chance, but if you compare the two guys, the way they’ve been fighting and the power they’ve been showing, Joshua does look the favorite, and I’m sure everyone else would agree,” Parker said. “But you can’t count Dubois out, like a lot of people [did] going into the Hrgovic fight. I thought Hrgovic was the favorite. I was very wrong, and Dubois showed grit, determination and was very consistent with starting the rounds very fast, and he was able to just push him back and frustrate Hrgovic. I do give him a chance, but Joshua will be the favorite.”