By Keith Idec

Dereck Chisora’s crushing second-round knockout of Artur Szpilka hasn’t made Joseph Parker pause.

The former WBO heavyweight champion wants to face Chisora next, preferably October 26. That’s the date promoter Eddie Hearn has mentioned for a show at O2 Arena in London, where Chisora beat Szpilka on the Dillian Whyte-Oscar Rivas undercard July 20.

“He was impressed, but he won’t shy away,” David Higgins, Parker’s co-promoter, told Sky Sports for a story posted to its website Thursday. “He won’t take a step backward. Chisora looked good and Joseph’s message was, ‘Make the fight. Make it happen!’

“That date is absolutely plausible, provided everyone moves quick. I’m sure that Joseph Parker would absolutely be happy with that scenario. We’re ready and willing, and we just need to get this formalized quick.”

New Zealand’s Parker (26-2, 20 KOs) dominated Australian veteran Alex Leapai (32-8-4, 26 KOs) in Parker’s last fight, a 10th-round, technical-knockout win June 29 in Providence, Rhode Island. That was Parker’s second TKO victory since he lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Whyte (26-1, 18 KOs) in a fight in which both boxers were knocked down a year ago at O2 Arena.

The Zimbabwe-born Chisora (31-9, 22 KOs) also has won back-to-back bouts since Whyte knocked him out in the 11th round of their rematch December 22 at O2 Arena. The 35-year-old, London-based contender drilled Poland’s Szpilka (22-4, 15 KOs) with a right hand that knocked him unconscious in their scheduled 10-round fight.

Chisora has been calling for a fight against Parker for quite some time.

“If Dereck shows up and lands a big bomb, he could win the fight,” Higgins said. “But if Joseph fights the way we know he can, at his best, he’ll win the fight.

“It’s one of those fights that could go either way, among two household names now. It will be exciting and explosive.”

 Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.