By Jake Donovan
It was a vision he had as a rising prospect while training with then-World heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko last spring. Just over a year later, Joseph Parker is now well within position to make that dream a reality.
Now an unbeaten heavyweight contender, the 24-year old from New Zealand has rapidly advanced from local attraction to global threat. He’s spent the past few months as the leading contender to the alphabet title currently in the possession of Anthony Joshua, who is looking to squeeze in one more defense before honoring his mandatory obligations by next January.
A new development in the heavyweight division, however, could result in putting a title belt around Parker’s waist even sooner.
Reigning undefeated World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has a dangerous challenge ahead – coming to grips with mental health issues that in recent months have spiraled out of control. The hulking and brash Traveler made a splash in ending Klitschko’s 9 ½ year reign with an upset decision win last November.
He’s yet to defend the crown, first having to wait on a venue and a slew of networks to get in alignment for the right date for a rematch with Klitschko. That date has now been twice postponed, both due to Fury – claiming an injury in cancelling plans for their planned July 9 clash and more recent concerns of his mental health disqualifying from being able to move forward with the scheduled October 29 date.
The latest issue – coupled with his testing positive for cocaine on September 22, to which he admitted a drug and alcohol addiction – could result in his being stripped of the remaining alphabet titles in his possession. This is where Parker becomes a main benefactor. In addition to serving as the mandatory challenger to Joshua’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) strap, he is also the top contender to the soon-to-be-vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) belt.
In a perfect world, Parker would prefer to face Fury himself for such titles. Ever the realist, he understands why that can’t happen and rather than call him out, he chooses to call and wish him well in his latest battle.
“He’s been good to me on social media, and he’s reached out a few times,” Parker said of his out-of-the-ring relationship with the troubled champ. “It’s a little sad what he’s going through. He’s the champion, in order to be the champ, you’ve got to beat the champ.
“All these things, people go through trials and things in life but hey, this is boxing. I want the (title) fight now. I want it to be locked in and my focus to be aiming to fight.”
Joshua and Klitschko – whom are in negotiations for a possible November 26 superfight – have fancied the idea of having both belts at stake for their planned meet. Neither can happen without Parker’s blessing – Joshua’s window for an additional optional defense closes by mid-November, at which point no other fight can be negotiated other than a showdown with Parker.
Meanwhile, any vacant title would first have to be made available to the leading contenders. As it relates to the WBO belt, that would mean Parker and unbeaten Andy Ruiz, both of whom are looking to make history for their respective countries. Parker aims to become the first-ever boxer both of Samoan descent and from New Zealand to win a piece of the heavyweight crown, while Ruiz seeks the same for his native Mexico, which has boasted many champions in its rich boxing history, but never in the heavyweight division.
In regards to allowing a Joshua-Klitschko double-title fight to happen without getting anything in return, Parker and his team have made their stance clear.
“Joe has positioned himself is a high risk, low (financial) reward fight for Joshua and Klitschko,” said Lonergan.insists promoter Dean Lonergan. “Whether Joe fights (Joshua) for the IBF title, or we fight for the vacant WBO title, one way or the other, he’s going to be fighting for a world title before the year is out.”
“We are looking at fighting Andy Ruiz, and we are looking to bring it here to New Zealand,” Parker (21-0, 18KOs) confirmed during a recent press conference in New Zealand. “The reason why, we’d love to give back to all our supporters and make history. I think if the opportunity does arise where we are fighting for the WBO Heavyweight Championship, I will take it in a heartbeat and I would love to bring it back here to New Zealand.”
Parker is hoping to do so while also remain next in line for Joshua’s title. He earned his mandatory position with a hard-fought point win over Carlos Takam in May. It was the toughest fight of his career, fitting since Takam represented his best opponent to date. It was also confirmation that he’s ready for the world title stage, which wasn’t necessarily the case this time one year ago when he was taking on faded familiar names (Kali Meehan) or no-hopers while simply looking to remain active while on the rise.
To his credit, he still seeks a steady stream of ring activity, having already fought twice since his win over Takam, scoring knockout wins over Solomon Haumono in July and most recently Alexander Dimitrenko earlier this month. He didn’t have to take either fight, as he easily could’ve sat back and waited for the Joshua fight to materialize.
Instead, he continues to work out any remaining kinks in his armor and now seeks to add one more fight in the coming months before positioning himself to challenge for the unofficial title of the best heavyweight in the world early next year.
“I’ve looked at a lot of tape of Ruiz,” Parker said of his potential next foe. “I’m excited by the opportunity to fight him, if we bring it back down here I know I’ll be champion. Ruiz is a fighter who likes to put on pressure and come forward. I remember when I sparred him in 2013, he had a lot of power… I couldn’t eat for about three days.
“I know he’s got a lot of power, and he’s got a lot of experience, but I know if I have a great training camp, I know I will beat anyone in the world.”
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox_v2
