05-29-2019, 12:58 PM
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker to finally reveal fighting future
Duncan Johnstone
Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker's getting through plenty of skills and drills at his Las Vegas training camp.
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker is set to finally reveal his fighting future.
The former WBO champion said an "exciting announcement is coming this week", tipped to be out of New York on Friday (Saturday, NZT).
Parker is expected to attend world champion Anthony Joshua's title defence against Andy Ruiz Jnr at Madison Square Garden this weekend.
Joseph Parker is eager to get active again and a multi-fight deal is set to be announced for the Kiwi heavyweight.
That fight, Joshua's first foray into the United States, is being promoted by Eddie Hearn and points to Parker aligning himself with the British king pin.
Parker's handlers have had negotiations about muli-fight deals worth millions of dollars with Hearn and veteran American promoter Bob Arum.
They have also held talks with Al Hayman who handles WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
All three deal with different broadcasters as a massive battle for the lucrative boxing market intensifies.
Hearn operates in both Britain and the United States, monopolising the Sky Sports scene in the UK and developing the massive push in the United States by ambitious DAZN who plan to be the Netflix of sport by offering on-demand streaming.
Arum, who has a huge deal with heavyweight US outfit ESPN, has already had a co-promotion arrangement with Parker but that has failed to materialise any fights in the States.
Parker has been weighing up his options since April for a decision that will likely take the 27-year-old through to the end of his career. He is adamant he can have another run at a world title.
The negotiation process has seen Parker endure the longest lay-off of his 25-2 professional career.
He hasn't fought since knocking out Mexican-American Alexander Flores in Christchurch last December, a result that halted a two-loss slump at the hands of Joshua and fellow Brit Dillian Whyte.
But Parker has kept himself fit and and has already immersed himself in a busy Las Vegas camp that started on May 6, aware that a fight deal was imminent and he needed to be ready. Parker is now in a sparring phase.
There has been speculation of a clash with rugged Brit Dereck Chisora while veteran US fighter and former title contender Eric Molina is another name that has been doing the rounds.
Parker's next fight should come in either June or July and he wants to keep active over the back half of the year.
DAZN have three events across America in June after the Joshua title fight with a June 29 card in Providence headed by WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade having plenty of vacancies.
Hearn also has two UK shows in July.
Top Rank have two promotions in the United States and one in Japan in June-July, including Fury's next fight on June 15 in Las Vegas that also has a yet to be announced undercard.
Parker needs a big result to push his name back into the title talk at a time when the scene has been dominated by Joshua, Wilder and the re-emergence of British star Tyson Fury.
Announcing a new deal in New York will put Parker in front of a huge gathering of international boxing media attending the Joshua v Ruiz fight, with plenty of interest sure to fall on the popular Kiwi and his plans.
Stuff
Duncan Johnstone
Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker's getting through plenty of skills and drills at his Las Vegas training camp.
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker is set to finally reveal his fighting future.
The former WBO champion said an "exciting announcement is coming this week", tipped to be out of New York on Friday (Saturday, NZT).
Parker is expected to attend world champion Anthony Joshua's title defence against Andy Ruiz Jnr at Madison Square Garden this weekend.
Joseph Parker is eager to get active again and a multi-fight deal is set to be announced for the Kiwi heavyweight.
That fight, Joshua's first foray into the United States, is being promoted by Eddie Hearn and points to Parker aligning himself with the British king pin.
Parker's handlers have had negotiations about muli-fight deals worth millions of dollars with Hearn and veteran American promoter Bob Arum.
They have also held talks with Al Hayman who handles WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
All three deal with different broadcasters as a massive battle for the lucrative boxing market intensifies.
Hearn operates in both Britain and the United States, monopolising the Sky Sports scene in the UK and developing the massive push in the United States by ambitious DAZN who plan to be the Netflix of sport by offering on-demand streaming.
Arum, who has a huge deal with heavyweight US outfit ESPN, has already had a co-promotion arrangement with Parker but that has failed to materialise any fights in the States.
Parker has been weighing up his options since April for a decision that will likely take the 27-year-old through to the end of his career. He is adamant he can have another run at a world title.
The negotiation process has seen Parker endure the longest lay-off of his 25-2 professional career.
He hasn't fought since knocking out Mexican-American Alexander Flores in Christchurch last December, a result that halted a two-loss slump at the hands of Joshua and fellow Brit Dillian Whyte.
But Parker has kept himself fit and and has already immersed himself in a busy Las Vegas camp that started on May 6, aware that a fight deal was imminent and he needed to be ready. Parker is now in a sparring phase.
There has been speculation of a clash with rugged Brit Dereck Chisora while veteran US fighter and former title contender Eric Molina is another name that has been doing the rounds.
Parker's next fight should come in either June or July and he wants to keep active over the back half of the year.
DAZN have three events across America in June after the Joshua title fight with a June 29 card in Providence headed by WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade having plenty of vacancies.
Hearn also has two UK shows in July.
Top Rank have two promotions in the United States and one in Japan in June-July, including Fury's next fight on June 15 in Las Vegas that also has a yet to be announced undercard.
Parker needs a big result to push his name back into the title talk at a time when the scene has been dominated by Joshua, Wilder and the re-emergence of British star Tyson Fury.
Announcing a new deal in New York will put Parker in front of a huge gathering of international boxing media attending the Joshua v Ruiz fight, with plenty of interest sure to fall on the popular Kiwi and his plans.
Stuff