Heavyweight contender Joseph Parker is in the best shape of his career but is nowhere near a championship fight.
After consecutive wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhang Zilei, the former WBO champion has climbed back up the rankings, but with Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury scheduled to rematch in December and Anthony Joshua potentially facing Daniel Dubois in September, Parker is waiting for big fights.
“I'm not frustrated. To be honest with you, I want those fights. I'm just working on being patient,” Parker said on the “Seconds Out” podcast. “Whatever fight is in front of me, I'll take it. I'll fight anybody. And I've got to keep proving that I'm the best. Whatever fight is in front of me, I'm going to take it, prove myself and move on. I want to be involved in those big fights. If I do my job well, that time will come.”
The 32-year-old Parker (32-3, 23 KOs) has won his last six fights since losing to Joe Joyce. His other two losses came to fellow British heavyweights Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua, both of whom he would like to face again.
He fought Joshua for the IBF, WBA and WBO belts in 2018 and lost a lackluster decision.
“I feel like we've both grown as fighters,” Parkard said. “I'm more confident in myself, I'm still defensive, but I'm more aggressive now. Joshua has two wins, he looks good. [trainer] “Ben Davison is showing a lot more power than he's shown before. That's something I need to show. I think it's going to be a more aggressive fight. He's not going to go after me, I'm not going to go after him. I think it's going to be a lot more interesting. There's going to be a lot more punches, and we're going to land punches.”
Joshua began the bout against Dubois in a favorable position, with both fighters coming off impressive winning streaks: Joshua had beaten Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou, while Dubois had defeated the previously unbeaten duo of Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic.
“Any fighter has a chance, but when you compare the way these two fighters have fought and what they've shown, Joshua looks like the favorite, and I think everyone else would agree,” Parker said, “but you can't count Dubois out like a lot of people say.” [did] Coming into the fight, I thought Hrgovic had the advantage, but I was sorely mistaken. Dubois showed tenacity, determination and consistency in starting the rounds very fast, forcing Hrgovic back and frustrating him. He has a chance, but Joshua has the advantage.”
