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Former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker is looking for much bigger opportunities after facing his country rival, undefeated contender Junior Fa.
Parker and Fa fought four times in the amateurs – with each man winning twice.
They will settle their differences on February 27 at the Spark Arena in Auckland.
Should he get past Fa, then Parker wants the biggest opportunities possible.
He’s open to facing Joe Joyce, Oleksandr Usyk - and views Derek Chisora as a very realistic option.
Parker feels Usyk and Joyce, who may battle each other for the WBO-interim, are the most realistic options.
“I need guys like Joe Joyce, Oleksandr Usyk; I need guys like Dillian Whyte; there’s still a possibility we can fight Derek Chisora. He’s coming off a loss but his career has been revived. I’ll fight anyone, I’ll fly to the UK or the US, or wherever when it’s safe to do so to get back to the top,” Parker told Marc Gatford of MyBettingSites.co.uk
“Chisora is a live option. My health just declined and I was unable to make it that night but I’d love to put that right against Derek. It was the doctor who said we were not fit and able to fight Chisora, I was begging him to let me fight ‘please, please, please’. We could not move the date, Chisora found another opponent and it messed up everything for us because we were getting some good momentum. And right then I just made a vow: ‘na, I’m never pulling out again.’ Not even if I have a small injury or something that’s bothering me, I’ll fight through it because I know I can get through it.
“My gut tells me it could possibly be Usyk or Joyce. My gut tells me when we get through this fight then it’s just a matter of getting the biggest fights. Usyk has really good movement and ring IQ, but If the opportunity arose I’d take that fight with both hands. With the movement and speed that I have I’d beat him, I’d be too much for him.
“Get through Junior Fa and I’d love the opportunity to fight Joe Joyce. He put on a great performance against Daniel Dubois; he showed good movement, good jab, lots of improvements and it would be a great fight.”