Joseph Parker wants to set the record straight

The Day of Reckoning in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December was a delight of boxing big names. The top heavyweight boxers in the world shared what is almost without question the best fight card we are likely to ever see. Joshua, Wilder, Wallin, Bivol, Dubois, Hrgovic. And none were as electric as Joseph Parker.

In an indictment of Deontay Wilder’s tactics, or his inactivity, or perhaps a glowing vindication of Parker’s own work ethic, he systematically destroyed Wilder, taking every round and bringing the war to the front door of one of the heaviest punchers in the game.

This was a far cry from the fast, but trepidatious boxer who could not hang with Anthony Joshua or Dillian Whyte five years ago. Parker has done something extraordinary. In opposition to the normal flow of events, he has matured into a championship-level heavyweight boxer.

A born-again workaholic, Parker wants to continue the pace that he set last year in 2024.

Prior to the Wilder fight being made, Parker and Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang had hammered out a deal. Now, the Kiwi wants to get that back on track. “I already agreed terms. So, I don’t think it’s a hard fight to make. But at the moment I haven’t heard anything back. I think both teams are still working on it behind the scenes. I’ve just been busy drinking coconuts and eating mango. So, hopefully I can hear something soon.”

There may be a wrinkle in that plan, however, since there are rumblings that Wilder wants to face Zhang on the Joshua-Ngannou card. While it doesn’t make much sense to face such a dangerous fighter from the standpoint of Wilder’s team, the money on offer could push the Chinese WBO Interim Champ toward Wilder.

But Parker is not banking on one fight. If Zhang goes toward Wilder, then Parker wants to face either Filip Hrgovic or Joe Joyce on that same card.

“I reckon give it a week or two,” he said. “I’m going to finish this trip off in Samoa and then head home to New Zealand and then head straight up to Ireland. It’s good to be in camp and stay ready, stay fit, stay focused and whatever pops up. Whether it’s March, whether it’s April, whenever it is you’re ready to go.”

Hrgovic is the IBF mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk’s title, and Parker is a top five challenger in every organization’s rankings, so that fight could be a tasty precursor to a post Usyk-Fury bout.

But Joe Joyce is one fight that Parker wants to make to set the record straight. They met in 2022, when Joyce stopped Parker with a left hook.

“I know that the version of myself that fought Deontay Wilder is a lot different to the version that fought Joe Joyce,” says Parker. “So, the only way to see both versions of Joe Joyce and myself is to make a fight happen this year.”

Either way, Joseph Parker will not sit still. He wants in the ring and you get the feeling that nothing will stop him.