By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker could be IBF, WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s next opponent now that Eddie Hearn and David Higgins have had preliminary talks. Otherwise, Australia’s former WBA champion Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne will likely get the opportunity for a WBO challenge.
”There is interest from the Joshua camp which is why we’re talking to them now,” Parker told the Herald. “He’s my preferred option. Everyone wants to fight him but I honestly think in his last performance he didn’t look the best. I didn’t look the best in my last performance because of the style I had in front of me. I think his style matches mine perfectly and I honestly think I can knock him out.
“My gut tells me it’s 50-50. Our team really wants it. We’re 100 percent in the fight. On their side, I’m not so sure. There’s a lot of talk there and it’s hard to gauge. I think for Joshua and their team it shouldn’t be about the money it should be about his legacy and trying to unify the belts and seeing who the best is.
“They can easily take a voluntary and make big money but for us I think they should pay us a bit more because I have a belt.”
”I’m not scared of anyone,” Parker added. “They may be big giants, and I respect Wilder’s power, but I think they’re both beatable.”Everyone wants to know who the best is. I want to know who the best is – that’s why I want to fight these guys.”
* * *
Meanwhile, heavyweight Lucas Browne could be Parker’s next opponent. The camps have agreed in principle to a bout which would probably be held in Sydney or Melbourne. “I’ve heard that Parker’s trainer, his promoter, his matchmaker, have all said ’yes, no problem,’ it’s actually Parker himself that’s holding it up,” Browne told AAP on Tuesday.
Browne’s promoter Matt Clark told AAP, ”They’ve offered us a deal, we’ve agreed, we’re ready to go, so if the fight doesn’t happen it’ rests solely on Joseph Parker.”
* * *
To further complicate matters, Bob Arum has offered Parker a March 10 bout against Bryant Jennings that would be televised on ESPN.