Joseph Parker will come to the UK and knockout Anthony Joshua, David Haye, Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora in a single year, says promoter
Anthony Joshua, David Haye and other British heavyweight boxers have been warned of the intention of unbeaten New Zealand fighter Joseph Parker to come to UK shores and knock them out.
Parker is now mandatory challenger to Joshua’s IBF world heavyweight title after beating Carlos Takam by unanimous decision last weekend and is considered one of the most exciting prospects in the division.
The unbeaten 24-year-old’s next fight will be against Solomon Haumono in New Zealand on July 21 but promoter Dean Lonergan from Duco Events is already eyeing up a move to the UK for a world title clash with Joshua, providing he comes through his first defence of his crown against Dominic Breazeale on June 25 at the O2 Arena.
“England is the hottest place in the hottest place in the world for heavyweight boxing right now. It’s the place we want to be," Lonergan told City A.M.
"I see Joseph Parker coming to England and first and foremost fighting Anthony Joshua and winning to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
“Then we’ll knockout Dillian Whyte, then we’ll knockout David Haye, then we’ll knockout anyone else; Dereck Chisora, Hughie Fury, Tyson Fury if he’s still a champion and still boxing, and anyone else who wants to stand up and fight. If we could beat all those guys in one year we’d turn around and beat them all again the next year and leave British boxers on their back and move onto America.
Read more: Anthony Joshua v Tyson Fury superfight slated for November
He added: "If we can become the heavyweight champion by going through Joshua we’d domicile ourselves in England, Joseph would continue to train in Las Vegas. But I’d see us setting up there having fight after fight just knocking out Brits."
The careers of both Parker and Joshua have followed similar trajectories with both fighters rapidly rising through the division and accumulating a highlight reel of devastating knockouts.
Parker has a record of 16 knockouts from 19 fights while Joshua has won all 16 of his bouts within the distance, yet Lonergan believes the British sensation has never been through a test as challenging as Carlos Takam and would come unstuck against his client.
https://twitter.com/joeboxerparker/status/733988734551494656
“Anthony Joshua has not had to fight a fighter of that ilk [Carlos Takam],” says Lonergan.
“Joshua has never had to go 12 rounds. The only time he looked troubled was when he fought Dillian Whyte and in round two he was wobbled.
“And here’s what I can promise you, if Parker wobbles Joshua at any stage, he will knock him out. I’ve got no doubt that Takam’s got a way better chin than Joshua and he’s got a way better defence. But there’s no doubt that Joshua hits hard, you’ve just got to look at his record.”
Undefeated: Parker has won 19 out of 19 fights (Source: Getty)
The date for a mandatory meeting between the pair would fall between November and January, although a potential unification bout between Joshua and Tyson Fury would take precedence.
Yet Lonergan is prepared to be patient with Parker and does not foresee any difficulties in working with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
“I’ve met Barry Hearn once and he was very gracious and gave David Higgins my business partner and myself two tickets to the Charles Martin v Joshua fight,” says Lonergan.
“We have tremendous respect for the job Barry and his son Eddie have done. Eddie in boxing and Barry across a range of sports. Given the fact that there is this mandatory on the line, it would be very easy to get a deal done with those guys and we’re looking forward to working with them.
“But unfortunately the goal is not to go up there and take a big payday, the goal is not to go up there and compete, the goal is to win. And we’re doing everything right now to prepare our guy so that happens.”
As for fighting away thousands of miles away from Parker's home supporters in New Zealand and his ancestral Samoa? Not a problem, says Lonergan.
"We’d probably fight on behalf of the Celtic nations," he explains. "We like the Welsh, we like the Irish, we like the Scottish and all those people don’t seem to like the English so we’d do it on behalf of them."