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Eddie Hearn feels Joseph Parker has earned another heavyweight title shot.
The former WBO champion has won six consecutive fights since he lost back-to-back 12-round unanimous decisions to Anthony Joshua and Dillan Whyte in 2018. New Zealand’s Parker hasn’t participated in a world championship match since he lost his WBO belt to Joshua in their title unification fight in March 2018 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
The 29-year-old Parker (30-2, 21 KOs) is ranked second by the WBO, fourth by the IBF and WBC and 13th by the WBA. Though rated highest by the WBO, Hearn, whose company co-promotes Parker, indicated after his second straight points victory over Dereck Chisora (32-12, 23 KOs) on Saturday night at AO Arena in Manchester, England, that the path toward an IBF title shot might make the most sense for Parker.
Oleksandr Usyk is the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO champion, but he was Joshua’s mandatory challenger for the WBO belt when the Ukrainian upset Joshua by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder September 25 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The turn of the IBF’s mandatory challenger therefore will come up next in the sanctioning organizations’ rotation for Usyk’s titles, which Hearn indicated could lead to Parker facing Filip Hrgovic in an IBF elimination match next.
“It was a great performance [by Parker],” Hearn stated during his post-fight interview with DAZN. “We talked about where does the winner and loser go? Dereck Chisora is a prizefighter. I’m sure he’ll be back. But Joseph Parker wants another shot at a world heavyweight title. There is a queue, but he’s positioned himself really well – maybe a final eliminator against Filip Hrgovic in the IBF is a great fight as well. Probably a good rest as well. But the career is alive and kicking for Joseph Parker, and he continues to chase that second world title. And it was a brilliant way to end 2021.”
The top spot in the IBF’s heavyweight rankings is unoccupied. Charles Martin (28-2-1, 25 KOs) is ranked second, but his position could change because he is scheduled to fight favored Luis Ortiz (32-2, 27 KOs, 2 NC) on January 1 in a FOX Sports Pay-Per-View main event at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Croatia’s Hrgovic (14-0, 12 KOs) is ranked third by the IBF, one spot above the fourth-rated Parker.
Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) is contractually obligated to fight England’s Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) in an immediate rematch that is expected to take place sometime in the spring.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.