Kiwi heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker’s comeback into world title contention has hit an unexpected roadblock after he was left off the undercard of the Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk clash in Saudi Arabia on December 21.
Parker arrived in Ireland to begin a training camp under mentor Andy Lee on the assumption he would be fighting in Riyadh after two against-the-odds victories in the desert city.
But the 32-year-old’s short-term future is now in limbo and the omission will be hugely disappointing for him and his team, who were hoping to capitalise on a momentum started when he comprehensively beat former WBC champion Deontay Wilder just before Christmas last year which he followed with a majority decision win over Zhilei Zhang in March.
The Zhang victory, which came after Parker was knocked down twice, was the last time he fought.
The latest setback means Parker is unable to take advantage of a wildly fluctuating heavyweight division which has the undefeated Usyk as the WBO, WBC and IBO champion, and Daniel Dubois as the IBF champion after the Englishman’s stunning knockout victory over countryman Anthony Joshua at Wembley last month.
It means too that Parker, considered at his best when he is active, will fight only once this year.
Parker’s manager David Higgins confirmed to 1News today that the December fight was off but did not want to comment further. He and Parker are understood to be weighing their options.
There is a possibility that Parker could fight in February but that delay will likely carry a requirement for more travel.
Parker’s disappointment has highlighted the shifting sands which underpin the foundations of modern-day professional boxing.
Turki Al-Sheikh, an advisor to the Royal Court of Saudi, has become the most powerful figure in the sport for his ability to offer huge sums of money to make fights – most of which would not have been made without his influence.
However, a consequence is that virtually all the main players within the sport now dance to his tune, and, it appears, whims.
Parker was contracted for a re-match against Zhang but was doubtful about whether the Saudis wanted it to happen, as he told 1News in March. "My gut says different fight," he said.
Parker’s performance against Zhang drew praise from rival Joshua, to whom he lost his WBO world title belt in 2018, and who has been seen as a potential future opponent.
“Parker, for me, I think of the heavyweights he will go down in history,” Joshua told IFL TV. "He’s one you can learn from.
“He’s had his trials and tribulations and he just comes back stronger and stronger. Obviously, I’ll fight him if I need to, but aside from that, I take my hat off to him.”
Since beating Zhang, Parker has been on a mission to put on more weight to match the big beasts of the division, including Zhang, Dubois and Joshua.
“I’ve put on all this weight and I feel like it’s muscle weight," he told 1News in August of a meal plan that includes eating up to 7000 calories a day.
"Zhang was 130kg and I was 113kg. If I can close that gap in weight and keep the same speed and stamina, hopefully that will lead to a better performance.”
Parker, who won the WBO world championship in Auckland in 2016, fell into a hiatus until matching up with coach Lee and his strength and conditioning coach and nutritionist George Lockhart.
His team helped mastermind his stunningly wide points victory over the previously feared Wilder before providing the recipe for beating Zhang but, alas for them, the wait goes on.
He has added promoting fights to his portfolio after linking recently with rising cruiserweight David Nyika, but wants nothing more than to get back in the ring himself.
The only heavyweight fights on the Fury v Usyk card are promising Brit Moses Itauma v Australian Demsey McKean and Englishman Johnny Fisher v journeyman countryman David Allen.
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