Highly rated British heavyweight Anthony Joshua has thrown down the gauntlet to Joseph Parker, declaring: "If he wants it, he can come fight me."
Parker's promoters Duco Events are eager to set up a showdown with the 2012 Olympic champion, with Duco director Dean Lonergan recently accusing Joshua of running scared of the Kiwi contender.
Joshua's camp responded last week by telling the 24-year-old to join the queue of those hoping to take a shot at the English star.
Anthony Joshua says he has been monitoring Joseph Parker's career since 2009.
Joshua, though, says he has been monitoring Parker's career for some time and is looking forward to when they eventually step in the ring.
"I've known about Parker since probably about 2009, when I was coming up in the amateurs," the 26-year-old told iFL TV.
"Styles make fights, doesn't it. He's knocking out guys over in New Zealand, I'm knocking out guys in the UK - we come together and someone's going to get knocked out. That's just heavy-handed, fast, young prospects coming through the division."
Many believe Parker and Joshua are on a collision course to the heavyweight title having forged similarly impressive starts to their professional careers.
Parker is coming off an eighth-round TKO against American southpaw Jason Bergman in Samoa last month to extend his record to 18-0.
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Joshua, meanwhile, was last in the ring in December, improving to 15-0 courtesy of a seventh-round stoppage of fellow Brit Dillian Whyte.
There has been plenty of movement in the heavyweight ranks of late with Tyson Fury dethroning long-time champion Wladimir Klitschko and Charles Martin claiming the vacant IBF belt.
But Joshua has no doubt that he and Parker will determine the future of the division.
"It's all a bit up and down and I think sooner or later it will balance out," he added. "That's why me and Parker and so on will be good fights at some stage sooner than later so we can find out who is going to come and dominate the heavyweight division."
