Joseph Parker has expressed his frustration at potentially having to wait even longer to fight for the world heavyweight championship.
The 33-year-old from New Zealand was meant to face IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois on February 22 before his opportunity to become a two-time heavyweight champion was taken away from him at the last minute, with Dubois withdrawing from the contest due to illness.
Martin Bakole was drafted in to face Parker instead with the WBO ‘Interim’ heavyweight title at stake, much to the disappointment of the New Zealander who had been preparing to fight Dubois in what was a gruelling training camp.
Parker made light work of Bakole however, stopping the 31-year-old in the second round with a thunderous overhand right.
He has now expressed his anger at the prospect of having to wait a while longer to fight for a version of the heavyweight title, with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk reportedly targeting a rematch against Dubois in the near future.
Speaking to the New Zealand Herald, Parker shared his thoughts on the current heavyweight landscape and what he believes will be next for him in his rollercoaster career.
“I think there’s going to be a fight with Usyk and Dubois lined up because everyone is talking about it now. Possibly I’ll have one more fight before I can fight for the championship of the world … Since I lost it in 2018, I’ve been working so hard to get back to fighting for the title.
“To get the chance to fight for it, and then it vanishes in front of you two days before the fight… At the time, I didn’t care because I was focused on the fight date and staying switched on for whoever was going to be in front of me, but now the fight is done, it doesn’t feel right.
“I feel a bit angry. How can you set up this unification fight with Usyk and Dubois when he had a fight locked in with me? It should be that I fight Dubois now I’ve beaten Bakole. I haven’t given up. Turki AlalShikh is starting to listen to the fans and the fights they want to see.”
Parker is set to spend some time resting with his family before he restarts his quest to become world heavyweight champion once again. Dubois’ team, meanwhile, has confirmed that an undisputed fight with Usyk is the target, not rescheduling the Parker bout, which was a voluntary defence.
