Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker have earned a rematch, but David Higgins, the promoter of Joseph Parker a boxer from New Zealand, believes Anthony Joshua, 34, from England might stay out of this high risk bout.
Parker’s(34-3, 23KOs) unanimous decision victory over Deontay Wilder(43-3-1, 42KOs) in Saudi Arabia last weekend derailed hopes for a much-anticipated matchup between Joshua(27-3, 24KOs) and Wilder in 2024. In order to unify the WBO, WBA, and IBF titles in Cardiff in 2018, Joshua defeated Parker on points; nonetheless, Higgins is hoping to see a rematch soon.
“Joseph has earned that fight in my opinion and the Saudis would see merit in Parker against Anthony Joshua. It might not be next, there might be a bit more work to do but I think that’s the fight fans want to see. It’s a merit-based fight,” said promoter David Higgins in media reports.
“In terms of opponents, Joseph will fight anyone and if you look at all the names on his resume from Derek Chisora twice, Joe Joyce, Joshua, Wilder, Dillian Whyte, the list goes on and he’s still only 31-years-old. We’ll fight Anthony Joshua in a heartbeat. Everyone knows Joseph will fight him next but I am not sure that’s an option. We’ll obviously look at any option and see what comes forward,” he added.
“I can’t speak for their [Anthony Joshua] team, but they are probably trying to rebuild to a point and have a big fight against the likes of Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk. Maybe Joseph, especially after the way he handled his business with Wilder, is probably seen as high risk.” he continued.
After Parker won, he thanked Fury—who had fought with Wilder three times—for helping with the preparations. Higgins hopes that Parker, who has fought four times in the past year, can make a comeback in March because of his consistency.
Parker would also be open to competing against unified champion Oleksandr Usyk(21-0, 14KOs) in the future. On February 17, Usyk will defend his titles against WBC champion Tyson Fury(34-0-1, 24KOs) in an undisputed title fight held in Saudi Arabia.
“If the fight came up, I’m sure Joseph would jump at the opportunity, it would be a great fight and yes I think he could win the fight,” said Higgins.
