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By: Sean Crose
“I’ve been wanting a rematch with Joshua,” popular heavyweight Joseph Parker has said to Sky Sports. “I want to avenge those losses.” Sure enough, Parker has only lost three times – once to Joe Joyce, once to Dillian Whyte and of course once to Anthony Joshua, who decisioned the New Zealander back in 2018. “I know AJ’s another big fight, I don’t really care who I fight, just make sure it’s someone who’s top five in the world.”
Although Parker is currently the interim WBO heavyweight champion of the world, the man doesn’t seem to see the belt to be all that big a deal. “It’s a bargaining chip, being the champion of the world,” he told Sky Sports. “You want to win it (the WBO world heavyweight title) so it would be nice to fight someone to win it. I know you can get elevated to it and it gives you a bit more bargaining power. But it would be nice to fight for it.”
Parker, however isn’t only interested in Anthony Joshua and the others who have defeated him. He would also love to get a chance to fight the heavyweight division’s kingpin, Oleksandr Usyk.”If that opportunity came I feel like I can show something different,” stated Parker. “Experience, skill, belief, power, speed, movement, I feel like I’m getting better and better as a fighter even though now I’m 12 years in the game.”I know what I can do. I back myself and believe in what I can do. But that’ll be there once I do this fight.”
Sure enough, there are some, this writer included, who feel that Parker might give Usyk as good a fight as anyone else at this point. Parker’s a veteran after all, plus he’s been a world titlist, and he knows what it means to fight on the big stage. What’s more, the man can fight. “Usyk holds the decision who he wants to fight,” said Parker. No doubt the man would like to be Usyk’s first choice of opponent.
One interesting aspect of Joyce’s personality is that he doesn’t reek of desperation. “For now ,” he said, “I’m just going to fight who’s in front of me and just enjoy it all.” That kind of balanced approach serves the man well in his career. He’s still on the scene, after all, after many of his peers have left the stage. At this point in his career, that’s a pretty good place to be.
