Joseph Parker is holding out hope that he’ll fight Derek Chisora yet.
Parker, the former titleholder from New Zealand, was set to fight Chisora on Oct. 26 but pulled out because of what he said was a spider bite. Chisora went on to stop David Price in London, giving him some momentum in his quest to fight for a title.
David Haye, Chisora’s manager, says he wants his fighter to face Oleksandr Usyk next but Parker still wants Chisora. Both Chisora and Parker are promoted by Eddie Hearn.
Parker told Sky Sports that he expects to learn his fate this week.
“He hasn’t won a world title, Chisora, so I think they are trying to look for the fastest and the best way of getting there, and they think Usyk is the best way of getting to a world title,” said Parker, who is ranked No. 4 by one sanctioning body. “But, firstly, it doesn’t make sense, because he’s not ranked and there’s a lot of guys ranked before him. I’m not sure why they want that fight. Obviously the fight was locked in for us both, and I couldn’t control what happened with the illness, but I want to reschedule the fight.
“I’m healthy, I’m fit, I’m ready to go. I know I can smash him, I know I can beat him. He’s going to bring a lot of pressure, but I know I’ve got better boxing skill and better movement than the other guys he’s faced. I told him before that I will retire him and I’ll be his last fight. Lock in the fight, I’ll put in a great show. He will get his money that he wants, but I will put him into retirement. He’s had a good career.”
Parker’s manager, David Higgins, also hopes a Parker-Chisora fight will come together.
“We’ve been advised by Joseph Parker’s promoter Matchroom, led by Eddie Hearn, that we’re going to get some answers next week on who Joseph might fight next, where and when,” Higgins told Sky Sports. “We’re sitting tight, leaving that in the hands of Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. The obvious answer is Derek Chisora. There has been talk of Chisora-Parker for two years now. Chisora has been baying to make that fight happen. On our front, the deal is done. We have a three-fight contract with Matchroom, so the terms are all agreed. It’s an easy one. Chisora wanted it, Parker wanted it. The only thing standing in the way is the Machiavellian David Haye.
“Joseph Parker is an old-school boxer, who fights the guy in front of him and is fearless. I think Chisora is arguably the same, however, enter David Haye the master thief of heavyweight boxing. He was lucky to be heavyweight champion and ‘stole’ the belt in a bizarre spectacle against a giant, somewhere in eastern Europe.”
Haye reiterated that Usyk is his prime target.
“It was all scheduled, four weeks prior to the fight, he gets bitten by a spider and the fight doesn’t happen,” Haye told Sky Sports. “That was Parker’s opportunity for the fight. It could still happen, but for me, Usyk is definitely the frontrunner, the fighter that I want, the fighter that Derek wants.”