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Joseph Parker’s future plans have changed, and they do not involve Oleksandr Usyk
After beating Zhilei Zhang last year, it felt like Joseph Parker was on the brink of a world title shot.
At the time, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were set to meet for the undisputed heavyweight title, but it was accepted that Parker would be the man to face the winner.
Two epic Fury-Usyk bouts later, and Daniel Dubois a newly crowned IBF heavyweight champion, surely Parker would get his chance to become a two-time champion.
A date was set, February 22, with IBF champion Dubois on the undercard of Dmitry Bivol’s rematch with Artur Beterbiev. It was a fascinating matchup, two exciting top level heavyweight fighters and a date with Usyk for undisputed honours awaited the winner.
Disaster struck just two days before the world title clash with Dubois withdrawing due to illness resulting in Parker facing late replacement Martin Bakole. Parker got the job done against Bakole in the second round, but there was a sense of dissatisfaction for the man from New Zealand who had worked so hard to get into this position.
Dubois would fail in his quest to become an undisputed champion five months later when he was knocked out by Usyk at a packed Wembley Stadium. Parker made sure he was a visible presence by meeting Usyk inside the ring with the WBO set to call for a mandatory defence with the New Zealander being the organisation’s interim champion.
Since the WBO gave the order for Usyk to arrange a deal with Parker, there has been nothing except for the odd social media post showing Usyk doing everything except showing any interest in facing Parker.
Instead of waiting around, Parker has been left with no choice but to get into some form of regular activity. This begins on Saturday night when he faces hard-hitting WBA interim champion Fabio Wardley, live exclusively on DAZN PPV.
After Wardley proved that he can turn things around against a superior boxer with a memorable tenth round knockout against Justis Huni, Saturday’s meeting at London’s O2 Arena is a major risk for Parker. If he loses, then he will likely find himself at the back of the queue for that elusive date with Usyk.
However, Usyk is no longer the priority for Parker.
Speaking ahead of his fight with Wardley to DAZN News and other media outlets, Parker revealed that his goals have changed from the Ukrainian to putting on entertaining performances against anyone who stands in front of him.
“My goal has been to be heavyweight champion of the world, but it got taken away from us two days before the fight, now it’s just to bash anyone that’s in front of me,” Parker said.
“Do my business, give one of my best performances, get the win and move on to the next.
“The goals have changed.”
The heavyweight division is the strongest it has been for some time, but it is in danger of stalling at the worst possible time.
Usyk deserves to have some time away to rest and recover, his achievements will go down in boxing history, however, there is a sense of frustration creeping in. He has hinted that retirement is coming sooner rather than later, but for every day that passes, the heavyweight division is unable to make its next move.
It will not just be those on the brink of world title challenges who this lack of activity will affect, it will also be those prospects working their way through the ranks. Without movement at the top, then how else are they supposed to climb up the ladder and hope to reach the top table of boxing’s most popular weight class.
This frustration towards Usyk’s silence and what it’s doing to the division was echoed by Parker.
“I’m not sure why Usyk is waiting for so long.
“He’s a great champion and he’s done tremendous things in boxing, taking over the cruiserweight division and the heavyweight division.
“It’s not just us at the top, but all the heavyweight fighters, we want to see a bit more movement with the world titles.
“Usyk, come on man!”
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If Usyk does decide to hang up the gloves for good sooner rather than later, then maybe Parker will have made the right decision to not focus solely on facing one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters.
Wardley is obviously the immediate priority, but with boxing often being a sport which succumbs to political decisions from the governing bodies, it would be no surprise if Usyk is stripped of some world title belts due to lack of activity.
Parker then may finally get the world title shot that he craves, and if he has done that by beating up his opponents in the opposite corner regardless of name and status in the heavyweight division, his change in mentality after a frustrating period will have all been worth it.
Watch Parker vs. Wardley live on DAZN
Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley fight on Saturday, October 25, to become the WBO mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk. Watch the fight and undercard live and exclusive on DAZN PPV.
