By Duncan Johnstone

Rising New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker will finally get to fire his shots against Sherman "The Tank" Williams.

The durable fighter from the Bahamas was confirmed today as Parker's opponent for his October 16 bout in West Auckland.

Parker was due to fight Williams in April on the Wladimir Klitschko undercard in Germany.

But Williams, who was a sparring partner for Klitschko, was tossed out of the world champion's camp and sent home, leaving Parker to dispose of late substitute Marcelo Nascimento (Brazil) with a seventh round knockout on the glamour night in Oberhausen.

Williams felt hard done-by and voiced a desire to get a crack at Parker. His wish has now been granted.

Promoted as a durable journeyman who has only been knocked out once in 52 fights, Williams faces a tough night against Parker who is making rapid progress in the pro ranks, revelling in a heavy workload being thrown at him by trainer Kevin Barry and promoters Duco Events.

While Williams hasn't fought since last November, Parker faces another fight before their showdown at Trusts Stadium.

Parker, fresh off last Saturday's knockout win over American Brian Minto, will fight an opponent still to be named in Pennsylvania on August 10 on the undercard of a promotion headed by well-regarded Ukranian heavyweight Vyacheslav Glazkov.

New Zealand light-heavyweight Robbie Berridge will also feature on the Pennsylvania card, fighting Russian Vasily Lepikhin.

Lepikhin is unbeaten over 15 fights and holds the Russian title. His handlers see Berridge, who is ranked No 10 by the WBO, has an ideal chance for their man to make a quick advance.

The 1.92m Lepikhin will have a height and reach advantage but Berridge will back the punching power that has seen him win 20 of his 26 fights by knockout.