Joseph Parker, emerged in December of 2016, as the WBO heavyweight world champion when he won a majority-decision victory over Andy Ruiz Jr., an unbeaten prospect signed to Top Rank Inc. at the time. Parker would double-down on his good fortune as he defeated Hughie Fury in 2017 traveling to Manchester to get that nod that was once again a majority-decision loss.
Sure, Parker lost to Joshua. What we often forget is Parker’s jab did give Joshua fits, or at least, a lot of discomfort. Parker would lose to Dillian Whyte in his next fight, one in which a head butt to some people’s perception of the bout swung the fight in Whyte’s favor.
After riding a six-fight winning streak, Parker would step up to face Joe Joyce as the constant pressure of Joyce proved to be far too much as he was stopped in the eleventh round.
On Wednesday, May 24th, Parker got a bounce-back win stopping Faiga Opelu in one round, with the exact time of the stoppage being 1:26. Now Parker, a former world champion, who is only 31 years old, is still a viable name in the division to create a marquee bout.
Let’s look at some of the potential big fights he could be a part of in the future.
Martin Bakole
Bakole defeated Tony Yoka and has struggled to land any significant fight as of yet. Bakole is now affiliated with Boxxer and Sky Sports, so he has a major network/promoter backing him which should help. The bout would be intriguing and answer some questions we need to be answered about both fighters.
Has Bakole improved since being stopped by Michael Hunter? Can Parker handle a tough top-ten pressure fighter like Bakole as a prime Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce beat him? The fight makes sense and given that Parker fought Anthony Joshua in the past - it could also be an attraction as well as a comparable opponent for Bakole.
Michael Hunter
If boxing was fair Michael Hunter would have a world title shot, but boxing isn’t fair. Hunter is a very talented heavyweight, who just never seems to find himself in a situation that suits him. Hunter has fought on old PBC cards, Triller, Matchroom Boxing, and a slew of other promoters, but never has found a long-term home. If Parker were to do a fight in Australia, Hunter would be a great fighter to face as I am pretty sure he’d be willing to travel for that fight.
Currently, Hunter is fighting in the newly formed Team Combat League, which is a team-based boxing event, that is in its first season.
Jared Anderson
Jared Anderson is in a tough fight on July 1st in his homecoming in Toledo, Ohio, on ESPN against Zhan Kossobutskiy. If Anderson were to pass with flying colors the list of opponents Anderson can face gets even smaller.
The buzz around Anderson is that he is truly the next great American heavyweight. If he wants to have a big fight in the fall or early 2024, a fight against a former world champion would be something that would put him in a position to land the coveted world title shot - which brings more attention, fame, and money. Anderson is the dark horse to land the Joseph Parker fight.
Zhilei Zhang
“Big Bang” Zhang is riding a heater. Losing a fight to Hrgovic that most fans feel he won, and then stopping Joe Joyce was quite a statement. Right now the belief is Joe Joyce will rematch Zhang at some point in 2023, but if that falls through - a battle between Zhang and Parker would be quite interesting.
A lot of things would have to happen for this to occur, but if it did - I don’t think anyone would be mad as it is a classic boxer versus puncher.
Filip Hrgovic
What a rotten nine months it has been for Filip Hrgovic. The once-labeled boogeyman now has gone dormant as he won a split decision over Zhilei Zhang only for a lot of the world to feel it should’ve gone the other way. While Hrgovic has been inactive, Zhang got the biggest win of his career knocking off 2016 British Olympic silver medalist, Joe Joyce.
Hrgovic really needs a fight like this as fighters like Jared Anderson, Zhang and even Martin Bakole are passing him up in terms of fan interest due to his inactivity, compared to his peers.
