Joseph Parker is done itching his spider bite. He’s now itching for a big fight.
The Auckland, New Zealand native returned from an eight-month layoff to knock off Shawndell Winters inside five rounds at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco Texas on the undercard of Mikey Garcia-Jesse Vargas.
Late in Round 5, Parker staggered Winters badly with a right hand and followed up with a right-left hook-right combination that decked Winters to the canvas for the second and final time in the fight. Referee Rosario Solis waved off the fight at the 2:40 mark.
Parker (27-2, 21 KOs) was originally scheduled to face British contender Dereck Chisora last October but a freak spider bite led to that fight’s cancellation
“A win’s a win,” Parker said afterward. “You gotta take the win and I’ll leave it up to (promoter) Eddie (Hearn) and the team to lock up another fight soon.”
Parker scored the first knockdown of Winters (13-3, 12 KOs) late in Round 3, Winters would survive and go on to have himself a decent Round 4, in which he landed a left hook that opened up a cut over Parker’s right eye. The Illinois native also caught Parker clean with a slew of uppercuts and hooks on the inside.
But Parker would have the final say, responding emphatically in Round 5.
“I have to work on being a bit more patient and making my punches more meaningful,” Parker said.
The Kiwi heavyweight noted he is still interested in facing Chisora, who is scheduled to go up against Oleksandr Usyk later this summer, or having a rematch with Dillian Whyte.
“I want to keep busy and hopefully get two more fights this year and finish off with a bang later this year,” he said.