Australian heavyweight Lucas Browne eager to fight Joseph Parker
Australian heavyweight Lucas Browne is eager to fight Joseph Parker as both boxers look to get their careers back on track.
The trans-Tasman fight has always been seen as highly marketable for either New Zealand or Australia and that has only increased with the two suffering contrasting losses to Britain's Dillian Whyte.
Browne was brutally knocked out by Whyte inside six rounds in London last March, suffering the first loss of his 26-fight professional career.
Joseph Parker and Dillian Whyte had a torrid battle that saw the rugged Brit win on points.
Parker took Whyte the distance at the same venue last month but lost a unanimous points decision to see his pro record dip to 24-2.
Browne was underdone coming into the fight against Whyte and looked slow and ponderous. He might be just the sort of opponent Parker needs to regain some confidence with the Kiwi's speed sure to be a telling factor.
Browne said despite the controversies around Parker's loss to Whyte – the second round headbutt and the over-physical approach by the Brit – he was adamant Whyte deserved his victory.
"I haven't watched the Whyte v Parker fight in full, to be honest, I've seen clips and it shows that Whyte was getting better," Browne told World Boxing News.
Australian heavyweight Lucas Browne was brutally knocked out by Britain's Dillian Whyte.
"From what I've seen, the fight was never a draw and Whyte won it convincingly."
"Whyte is one of the better fighters in the world at the moment.
"But I personally would love a chance to fight Parker and test my skills against him."
Browne and Parker were in strong negotiations for a fight earlier this year before Parker got the lucrative offer from Anthony Joshua to put up his WBO belt in a unification fight.
Joshua out-pointed Parker in Cardiff nin early April, a week after Whyte demolished Browne in London.
Browne has a fight scheduled against Kiwi-American punching bag Julius Long (18-20) in Queensland for September 28. Browne beat Long in 2015, knocking him out in the ninth round.
Long hasn't fought for two years, his last win being one of the better efforts of his career, a split decision over Australian Bowie Tupou.
Parker wants to have another fight before the end of the year. His promoter, David Higgins, admits a fight in New Zealand is a strong option as they eye several international options.
(08-11-2018, 05:18 AM)U.K. Fight Fan Wrote: [ -> ] (08-09-2018, 08:57 PM)Ibeabuchi Wrote: [ -> ]ok guys Joe has said he wants to fight for 5 more years, if he stays with his current team where does he end up? if he switches it up and works on theses weaker areas of his game how far can he go?
I dont want to see what happened to David happen to Joe, where the last years of his career were milked for chump change on dubious local PPVs. Id like to see the Ruiz rematch
I don't see him going much further than he's gone. He's a 26 fight pro with a sizeable amateur background. He is only 26 but the muscle memory and bad habits will be really difficult to undo. Add to that, he's in a division where Joshua is only a few years older than him and want's to stay in boxing for another 10 years. The heavyweight prospects coming through like Yoka, Hrgovic, Dubois will make it even tougher for Parker to make a mark again at the very top of the division. Add a potentially motivated Tyson Fury into the mix and a world class Usyk and I don't see Parker winning a world title again. Finally, I think he'll be hanging up his gloves when he could be at his best. He'll be 31 when he plans to retire? I think heavyweights generally are at their best at 31-35.
BUT...
Parker can be in exciting fights and can definitely be a top ten heavyweight for the next 5 years. The Parker that fought Whyte, I would watch again for sure. Ruiz rematch would be a great fight or he could base himself in the UK. Chisora being the obvious fight and then a Whyte rematch.
You forgot about Wilder. I think Parker can be competitive against the up and comers. Even beat them. But I agree, he'll never be champ again. I doubt AJ and Wilder will ever fight him going forward.
I'm going to say I can see Parker becoming a champ again at some point, but I do think his next title shot will be his last one if he loses it.
But Joshua is going to soon get to a point where mandatories start to pile up and I can see him having to drop one of his belts at some point. If Wilder/Joshua happens and one of them gets all the belts then that will DEFINATLEY happen.
I don't really see Joshua vacating any of the belts ever, he wants to be unified champ. Sadly the governing bodies don't feel the same way, the whole of boxing wants unified champs. Well the whole of boxing except the people who run it. It'll be very hard, but not impossible for Parker to get another title shot. It won't be for at least a couple of years as there's loads ahead of him in the queue now, and he needs to get at least 2 significant wins. Probably better to chase Wilder and the WBC.
Joseph Parker plummets in boxing world rankings after consecutive losses
Duncan Johnstone
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker has had to take his world rankings demise on the chin.
Joseph Parker's world rankings have plummeted but his backers are brushing those off as they plot a return for the New Zealand heavyweight boxer.
The rankings have finally been updated on the back of Parker's second successive loss, a points defeat to Dillian Whyte in late July.
Parker now finds himself ranked in the top 15 by just one of the four major organisations – No 6 at the WBA.
Joseph Parker's controversial loss to Dillian Whyte has hit him hard in the heavyweight rankings but he is eager for a rematch with the rugged Brit.
Incredibly he has gone from being the WBO world champion to being unlisted by that organisation in the space of four months, after surrendering his belt to Anthony Joshua and then being upset by Whyte.
Parker had been No 6 with the WBO going into the Whyte fight. Now even fellow Kiwi Junior Fa is above him there at No 12 in a list that includes fighters from Germany, Sweden, Suriname, Japan, China, Ghana and Turkey amongst the usual suspects.
Joseph Parker held the WBO world heavyweight belt in March, now he's not even ranked inside that organisation's top 15.
The IBF have also dropped Parker out of their top 15 after having him at No 7 in July.
Parker hadn't been listed with the WBA heading into the Whyte fight.
The independent rankings provide a more realistic perspective of Parker's value. The respected Ring magazine have him two spots down at No 6, the IBO has him down one place to No 8 and BoxRec have the 26-year-old at No 10 as Joshua and Deontay Wilder share the four belts.
Parker's promoter David Higgins fended off the alarming rankings slump, believing Parker could quickly regain his place as a contender with the right fight and right result.
"We are not too fussed about that rankings stuff, it's simply a matter of getting a good win back on the horse," Higgins told Stuff.
"As long as you keep fighting and winning you'll get to the top.
"I can't imagine Joseph losing too much sleep over this ... he's pretty unflappable. He has got a job to do and that's what he's going to do."
Higgins felt Parker might be just one fight away from earning a rematch with Whyte, a fight he was sure there was an appetite for in Britain.
"Whyte is the sort of guy who will take any fight and deep down Whyte will know that Joe probably didn't get the rub of the green, that Joe was pretty unlucky. It was a cracker and Joe nearly came back and won at the end," Higgins said.
"I think that rematch is a matter of when, not if."
Parker's next assignment needs to hit the reset button. A third successive loss could prove terminal to his career. He needs a win and an impressive one, preferably a knockout. A reputable opponent needs to be carefully selected to try to achieve that.
Higgins said they had "options on the table" and it was a "50-50" choice between fighting in New Zealand or the United Kingdom before the end of the year.
Stuff
Joseph Parker keen to fight Dillian Whyte again 'as soon as he is willing'
Joseph Parker collects a powerful left hook from Dillian Whyte during their London fight last July.
Stalled New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker wants a rematch with Dillian Whyte "as soon as he is willing".
Parker remains in New Zealand in light training as he and his team try to stitch together a deal for a fight before the end of the year.
The 26-year-old former WBO heavyweight champion is sitting on back-to-back losses, the second a controversial points decision that went in favour of Whyte, despite the Brit's rough-house tactics.
Parker wants revenge though admits he might have to bide his time as Whyte eyes bigger things on the back of that London win which could propel him to a world title shot against Anthony Joshua, providing Joshua gets past Russian Alexander Povetkin in front of another massive Wembley crowd this weekend.
"Another 30 seconds and I would have beaten Dillian Whyte and would be fighting Joshua at Wembley," Parker told Sky Sports in the UK as he looked back on the White fight where he hit the canvas for the first time in his career but also had Whyte down in a frantic final round.
"But that's boxing and I must earn my way back. I will fight someone before the end of the year.
"As for Whyte, everyone wants to see a rematch and we should have got it on straight away. We will fight Whyte again as soon as he is willing."
Parker remains a marketable product in Britain and is respected by the powerful UK broadcaster. They were keen on his thoughts on Joshua's clash with Povetkin where the WBO, WBA and IBF belts go on the line.
Parker confirmed he would be watching with interest.
"I will be observing their styles closely. I expect Joshua to win, but anything can happen in boxing," he said.
"It is frustrating. I would have loved a rematch with Joshua at Wembley, and I believe I am still in the frame, being the only pro to take him the distance."