08-26-2019, 11:46 PM
Frustrated Joseph Parker vows to make Dereck Chisora pay for stalled fight negotiations
Duncan Johnstone
20:40, Aug 26 2019
Joseph Parker finally left Auckland on Monday night vowing to take out his frustrations on British heavyweight Dereck Chisora.
A fight that has been almost a year in the making is all-but set to happen on October 26 in London with Parker's manager David Higgins receiving a belated offer from British promoter Eddie Hearn.
An April clash was turned down by former WBO champion Parker because he felt he didn't have sufficient time to prepare and this time-frame has been pushed to the limit by the ongoing struggles to nail down the details.
Joseph Parker is happy to have another top fight in his sights.
Parker (26-2) will have nine weeks to tune up for Chisora (31-9), heading straight into camp in Las Vegas with trainer Kevin Barry.
"It's nearly there but the last four or five weeks it's been very hard to communicate with them," Parker, 27, said of finalising the deal with the 35-year-old Chisora.
"We are going into camp a little bit blind. I'm not so much angry, just frustrated that it has taken so long.
"I just want to punch Chisora in the face ... he has been calling me a chicken. To be honest, as an old dog he has more experience than me but he has more losses than me.
"I want to knock him out, that's what I want to do."
A busy Joseph Parker wore down Alex Leapai in their July fight in the United States.
Higgins also voiced his frustrations and felt there was some gamesmanship coming into play from Chisora and his manager David Haye.
That included a haggle over who would be the front man in what could be a lively promotion for the fight at the O2 Arena.
"It's getting pretty tight. It's been like extracting teeth from our new promoter Eddie Hearn," Higgins said.
"They also want Joseph to be the B side, as in Chisora v Parker rather than Parker v Chisora while Joe clearly has a better record than Chisora.
"They might think it gives them a mental edge but it doesn't."
Higgins felt Parker would be in the frame to stake a claim for a world title fight from the rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia on December 7 if he could dismiss Chisora with style.
"We'll get the job done and we will be in pole position to call out the winner of Joshua and Ruiz. In fact we could even probably still fight on that card if we get a good result," Higgins said.
To be fair, Hearn has had his hands full finalising the Saudi deal while also juggling a suitable headline act for the London promotion. Parker and Chisora are a good fit for London, Chisora a regular there and Parker having made his name in the UK where he has fought Hughie Fury, Joshua and Dillian Whyte.
Parker will have his partner Laine and their three young daughters with him in Vegas for the first time for this two-month stint there.
He felt it was important to see his young children daily and that would benefit his mental state for the camp.
A trim looking Parker said he was in "good shape" after daily workouts in Auckland while he awaited for his next fight deal to come through, the second of a three-fight contract with Hearn.
"I've kept busy, I reckon I'll enter camp in my best condition," he said.
Stuff
Duncan Johnstone
20:40, Aug 26 2019
Joseph Parker finally left Auckland on Monday night vowing to take out his frustrations on British heavyweight Dereck Chisora.
A fight that has been almost a year in the making is all-but set to happen on October 26 in London with Parker's manager David Higgins receiving a belated offer from British promoter Eddie Hearn.
An April clash was turned down by former WBO champion Parker because he felt he didn't have sufficient time to prepare and this time-frame has been pushed to the limit by the ongoing struggles to nail down the details.
Joseph Parker is happy to have another top fight in his sights.
Parker (26-2) will have nine weeks to tune up for Chisora (31-9), heading straight into camp in Las Vegas with trainer Kevin Barry.
"It's nearly there but the last four or five weeks it's been very hard to communicate with them," Parker, 27, said of finalising the deal with the 35-year-old Chisora.
"We are going into camp a little bit blind. I'm not so much angry, just frustrated that it has taken so long.
"I just want to punch Chisora in the face ... he has been calling me a chicken. To be honest, as an old dog he has more experience than me but he has more losses than me.
"I want to knock him out, that's what I want to do."
A busy Joseph Parker wore down Alex Leapai in their July fight in the United States.
Higgins also voiced his frustrations and felt there was some gamesmanship coming into play from Chisora and his manager David Haye.
That included a haggle over who would be the front man in what could be a lively promotion for the fight at the O2 Arena.
"It's getting pretty tight. It's been like extracting teeth from our new promoter Eddie Hearn," Higgins said.
"They also want Joseph to be the B side, as in Chisora v Parker rather than Parker v Chisora while Joe clearly has a better record than Chisora.
"They might think it gives them a mental edge but it doesn't."
Higgins felt Parker would be in the frame to stake a claim for a world title fight from the rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia on December 7 if he could dismiss Chisora with style.
"We'll get the job done and we will be in pole position to call out the winner of Joshua and Ruiz. In fact we could even probably still fight on that card if we get a good result," Higgins said.
To be fair, Hearn has had his hands full finalising the Saudi deal while also juggling a suitable headline act for the London promotion. Parker and Chisora are a good fit for London, Chisora a regular there and Parker having made his name in the UK where he has fought Hughie Fury, Joshua and Dillian Whyte.
Parker will have his partner Laine and their three young daughters with him in Vegas for the first time for this two-month stint there.
He felt it was important to see his young children daily and that would benefit his mental state for the camp.
A trim looking Parker said he was in "good shape" after daily workouts in Auckland while he awaited for his next fight deal to come through, the second of a three-fight contract with Hearn.
"I've kept busy, I reckon I'll enter camp in my best condition," he said.
Stuff