Joseph Parker is on a fine run of form over the last 12 months, and he has now been called out for a fight by a British world champion.
Parker looked to be coming towards the end of his career following his knockout loss to Joe Joyce in September 2022, but he has bounced back in a big way over the past year.
He defeated Deontay Wilder in December, before following that up with a victory over Zhilei Zhang in March to become the WBO interim heavyweight champion.
It’s unknown who Parker will potentially face next, and that had led to him being called out by a reigning British world champion.
That man is Lawrence Okolie, who won the WBC bridgerweight title last month with a destructive first round knockout win over Lukasz Rozanski in Poland.
He has since teased a move to heavyweight, and whilst speaking to Boxing Social he revealed that a clash against Parker is what he is currently targeting.
“I really want the Parker fight. He’s on a great run of form. There’s a great show in September. I’m a free agent right now and the opportunities are there. There’s bridgerweight defence, or there’s heavyweight fights, so let’s see.”
Okolie also discussed the possibility of facing either Chris Billam-Smith or Richard Riakporhe after their fight on Saturday, with Billam-Smith earning the win to retain his WBO cruiserweight title.
Okolie lost that belt to Billam-Smith last year, and revealed he is keen to avenge his loss, whilst insisting he would still be open to a clash with Riakporhe despite him coming up short.
“I would like to box the winner and the loser. At the end of the day, I know from personal experience that one loss can’t define you. Chris is cruiserweight, would he come up to bridgerweight? I’m going to ask Ben Shalom to find out as soon as possible.”
News on Parker’s next opponent is expected soon, with Okolie hoping that he may be able to convince the powers that be that he should step into the ring with the New Zealander.
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