Parker: I Believe I Can Beat Whyte - I'm Always Ready For Rematch

Former WBO world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker is eager to secure a rematch with Dillian Whyte.

The two boxers collided back in 2018 at the O2 Arena in London.

Parker, who went down twice in the fight, lost a twelve round unanimous decision to Whyte.  

For whatever reason, Parker failed to let his hands go for most of the contest, before rallying in the final three rounds. He had Whyte down and in very serious trouble in the twelfth and final round. Whyte was able to survive to the final bell.

Since that fight took place, each boxer has racked up three victories.

Whyte is scheduled to return on July 4th, against former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin - but at the moment there is not telling if the fight will be pushed back even further due to the ongoing cornavirus pandemic.

Whyte is the WBC's interim-champion, which puts him in line for the winner of the trilogy clash between full champion Tyson Fury and challenger Deontay Wilder. 

Parker believes he can get revenge - if the opportunity presents itself.

"We had a great first fight, he was the better man on the day but I believe I can beat him," Parker told BBC Sport.

"I know that he wants to be champion of the world but if no-one else wanted to fight him, I'm always here, always keen and I am always ready. So I would love a rematch."

In a recent interview, Whyte shot down the idea of a rematch with Parker - and advised him to stop "prancing around his kitchen" - which was certainly a direct knock on Parker's recent trend of making comical music videos.

"Leading into fights I'm very serious and imagine if I did this before a fight, people would think he's mucking around, he's not taking it seriously," Parker added.

"But having this lockdown has given me time to build relationships with my daughters, my partner, but also it has given me time to be myself and also have fun. We began filming these videos because we wanted to show even if you are at home, you can have fun but also as uplift and positivity.

"I was shy growing up but I think with the boxing and with talking to a lot of people and doing press conferences, it's given me confidence within myself and given me confidence to come out and be myself. Everything I've done leading up to this point I thank boxing for it."