Joseph Parker is hoping a second win over Derek Chisora will open up a route to a heavyweight title shot – but a match-up with WBC belt holder Tyson Fury appears highly unlikely.
The 29-year-old is currently focused on the rematch with Chisora in Manchester, England, on December 18, but he has one eye on another crack at a world title, three years after losing the WBO belt. The New Zealander took the vacant crown with a points win over Andy Ruiz on home soil in 2016, successfully defending it twice before losing to Anthony Joshua two years later.
With his options for another title shot being a match-up with Fury or the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua rematch, his closeness to Fury makes the former route unattractive at present. Parker was part of Fury’s camp for his successful title defence against Deontay Wilder earlier this year, and has been working alongside him in north west England for his upcoming fight.
These two get along so Parker doesn’t wanna get it on with Fury
While the prospect of a shot at Fury is unappealing, Parker is aiming to stop Chisora inside the distance to push him back up the rankings for a crack at either Usyk or Joshua.
He said: “I feel like the first fight (against Chisora) I let him off the hook, I sort of think like, ‘Why didn’t I finish him?’ This time I won’t let him off. I know what I have to do this time.
“Our goal is to go into this fight and look better. The most important part is win, but win well. I just want to go out there and fight, that’s all I want to do. I’ll just let my actions do the talking.”
On the potential of a shot at Fury, Parker added: “I’m not in Tyson Fury’s plans. He treats me like a brother. He’s helping me. I’ll let him do his thing. I’ll let him fight whoever he wants to fight and I’ll chase the other belts.”
The other belts may also prove elusive, for the time being at least, with the heavyweight division boasting a number of contenders keen for a crack at one of the two current world champions. British pair Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce both appear to be ahead of Parker in the pecking order – his only other professional defeat was at the hands of Whyte – so it seems likely he will need to beat Chisora and at least one more opponent in the heavyweight division before he has any chance of another crack at a world belt.
But Parker is still young in heavyweight boxing terms so time is on his side, whereas Chisora, 37, is in a bigger rush for another tilt at one of the top prizes. It is approaching ten years since Chisora last fought for a world title, losing on points to Vitali Klitschko.
The bookies have the man from South Auckland as clear favorite, trading as short as 2/5 (-250) to claim a second win – bet $5 with some free bet offers on Parker and get $7 back if he wins. Chisora is an outsider at 13/5 (+260), with the gambling firms feeling he missed his chance the first time around.
The more interesting bets appear to be on a stoppage inside the distance, with Parker available at 15/8 (+187.5) to win by KO, TKO, or disqualification; if you think Chisora has a big punch still in him you can get 9/2 (+450) on him to stop his opponent inside the distance.
The first fight with Parker still rankles with the Chisora camp, their belief is their man had done enough to claim a win after putting the former champion down within the first ten seconds of the fight. The split-decision verdict for Parker was Chisora’s 11th professional defeat, and if he loses to the New Zealander again, there appears little chance of another title fight before he’s 40 at the earliest.
