I don't think the Wilder fight is a bad idea. Sure JP could very well lose, Wilder has his flaws and so does JP, but the risk/reward is there. As long as it's not a brutal knock out, a loss may be for the best for JP.
I give Hughie Fury a good chance of beating Parker, and if Parker did win, he wouldn't get much credit for it imo. Better to fight Wilder for a unification, earn a lot of $$$, and hope for the win.
Winner of Wilder/Parker could fight winner of Klit/AJ for undisputed champ (as Ortiz and Povetkin look on forlornly...)
Parker and AJ are definitely ambitious. Wilder says he is, but doesn't do as he says... Klit retires win or lose.
Parker-Wilder unification in 2017?
By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker could wind up with a unification bout with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder if the WBO gives its approval. The WBO had ordered that the winner of Parker versus Andy Ruiz must make a mandatory defense against David Haye within 120 days, but the former WBA heavyweight champion has signed to challenge Tony Bellew on March 4 in England. It is thought the WBO could now order Parker to defend against Hughie Fury.
“If we are required to fight Hughie Fury, then that simplifies things a bit,” Duco Events’ director David Higgins told Sky Sports. “We are clarifying that at the moment. If the opponent is required to be Hughie Fury then we’ll assess the pros and cons of holding it in England versus holding it in New Zealand.
“We would consider all options. The other thing is to reach out to Al Haymon’s people about Deontay Wilder, potentially seeking to unify all of the belts.
“My understanding is that if we go to unify, it potentially overrides the mandatory, so that means we have options. We are not scared of anyone, we’re not going to look to pad or dodge – we want to unify.”
Joseph Parker’s promoter open to doubleheader on April 29: Joshua-Klitschko and Parker-Wilder
James Slater - December 13, 2016 7 Comments
New WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker seems to have plenty of options now that he has made his mark as the first New Zealander to have won heavyweight gold. Parker may have to face Hughie Fury in a mandatory first defence next spring, but the 24-year-old’s promotional outfit Duco Events are looking at all options – some of them massive.
David Higgins of Duco spoke with Sky Sports yesterday and he discussed everything from a Parker-Fury fight, to a Parker-Wilder unification fight, to a Joshua-Parker doubleheader on April 29, when AJ will fight former champ Wladimir Klitschko.
“If we are required to fight Hughie Fury, then that simplifies things a bit,” Higgins said. “We are clarifying that at the moment. If the opponent is required to be Hughie Fury then we’ll assess the pros and cons of holding it in England versus holding it in New Zealand, we won’t rule out either. We would consider all options. The other thing is to reach out to Al Haymon’s people about Deontay Wilder, potentially seeking to unify all the belts. We want to unify.”
Higgins added that if Parker gets a unification fight with Wilder, the bout would possibly be permitted above the mandatory defence Vs. Fury (as a mandatory defence can be superseded by a unification fight.) And Higgins’ big plan – perhaps, or almost certainly, too grand a plan to come off – is for Parker to fight Wilder on the April 29 card at Wembley that will see Joshua go up against Klitschko.
“Whether Eddie Hearn is willing to have two heavyweight title fights on the one card, we don’t know,” Higgins said. “We could have Parker-Wilder and Joshua-Klitschko on the same card and then the winner of each fight could fight off against each other.”
Wow! If this unlikely scenario actually unfolded, the fans would be the real winners, regardless of the outcome of the two super-fights. But is it at all feasible to have the Wembley card – one that is already guaranteed to sell out and make many millions – topped by two great match-ups? Which one would have top billing! And how much would it cost for the respective promoters to get all four big/huge names on the same bill?
If Parker and his people are serious about this, then more power to them, and what an incredible night of heavyweight action it really would be in April. But it’s tough to see it happening, don’t you think?
At least Parker, or his promotional team, is looking at facing the very best rival opposition and of taking the biggest fights out there. Things sure are getting very, very interesting again in the sport’s one-time glamour division.
Boxing: Joseph Parker will have to get in line to challenge Deontay Wilder
7:15 AM Wednesday Dec 14, 2016
Joseph Parker will have to get in line to face Deontay Wilder.
The American WBC world champion has set his sights on a heavyweight title unification bout against Anthony Joshua.
Wilder says if the IBF world champ prevails against Wladimir Klitschko in April you will see him fight Joshua.
Wilder says he'll unify the division.
Parker's promoters also plan to speak to Wilder's camp, with Duco Events director David Higgins stating it's also their goal to unify the heavyweight belts.
"We've reached out to the WBO [regarding] our obligations to fight the mandatory challenger," Higgins told Radio Sport.
Should Parker take on and beat Wilder, he would own two of four heavyweight belts.
Higgins did not rule out an imminent fight against British bruiser Joshua if it meant the chance to unify the division.
"We're not going to avoid fighting each other," he said.
Higgins also insisted that a loss would not cause irreversible damage to Parker's career.
"Nearly all the greats have lost fights," he said. "It's how you come back that matters. If he is to lose a fight, nothing changes. You get back on the horse; you join the queue again."
Hughie Fury's promoter to Joseph Parker: Let's get a deal done
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker with the WBO belt that Britain's Hughie Fury has his eyes on.
Joseph Parker's hopes of defending his WBO title against Hughie Fury has been boosted by the British boxer's promoter saying he wants to "get the deal done".
Frank Warren, a respected figure in the fight game, says his charge Fury "wants the fight" against Parker.
Parker's handlers at Duco Events are still waiting for official confirmation of the mandatory defence but Warren is adamant Fury now holds those rights and is eager to take on Parker, preferably in the UK.
Hughie Fury holds the WBO's intercontinental belt but wants a shot at the world title against Joseph Parker.
Warren, who has been promoting fights since 1980, has penned a column for BritishBoxers were he outlined his desire to have Fury fight Parker who beat Mexico's Andy Ruiz in Auckland last Saturday.
The WBO belt was vacated by Fury's cousin Tyson Fury because of drug issues and fight inactivity.
"The good news is that it (the belt) could well be back in the hands of the Fury family before too long," Warren wrote.
"Parker must now defend against our own Hughie Fury, who officially holds mandatory status for a challenge for the WBO heavyweight title.
"David Haye was initially in pole position, but he now has a March date in his diary, so it goes to the next available contender and that is Hughie.
"I know Hughie was watching events in Auckland closely and wants the fight. He is right up for it so we will do our best and get it done for him."
Warren wants the fight to take place in Britain. Whether Duco Events wants to relinquish home rights remains to be seen.
They are adamant a fight in New Zealand can still translate into a good time slot for the British pay-per-view audience.
A fight in Britain, though, is also a tempting chance to give the UK their first live look at Parker who is keen to make a mark with that lucrative audience.
WBO rules says the mandatory defence must be held within 120 days of Parker's win over Ruiz. The only way he can avoid that is to get a unification fight, with WBC champion Deontay Wilder the only available option. Wilder has also been courting Fury and wants a February fight as his comeback from injury gathers momentum.
But Fury, an unbeaten and large-framed 22-year-old, now clearly seems to be preferring to fight Parker, the 24-year-old Kiwi whose record has gone to 22-0.
"We will enter into negotiations with the objective of bringing the fight over here. The worst case scenario is that it goes to purse bids and if it does, so be it," Warren wrote for BritishBoxers.
"Bringing the fight to the UK market makes sense for both parties and it would be the perfect opportunity for Hughie to really put his stamp on the division and show the public what he is all about.
"He is a superbly talented individual who is so well drilled and schooled by his father Peter. All the tough and tricky learning fights he has been put through from such an early age will really serve him well now."
Warren wasn't particularly complimentary about Parker's tight win over Ruiz, a controversial majority points decision.
"It was a decent enough fight, without exactly having us on the edge of our armchairs and, in all honesty, I was expecting a little bit better from two young, unbeaten contenders," he wrote.
"There was hardly anything in it, with neither of them particularly forcing the issue, but the right man probably got the nod in the end.
"It certainly wasn't one of those fights that left you craving a rematch and it is probably a good job because that is not an option."
Warren said Tyson Fury "must be watching the heavyweight soap opera play out with a heavy heart" as lesser ranked fighters take his belts.
Warren felt there was "brainwashing going on" around the looming Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko match.
Warren said Joshua had been "spoon fed" poor quality opponents and he had reservations about the current credentials of Klitschko who will be 41 when the bell rings for the April fight.
- Stuff
Given his level of opponent and his KO ratio, he's probably the least qualified fighter fighting for a title in a long time. What he has going for him is the name FURY.
http://boxrec.com/boxer/643611