Joseph Parker wants a shot at avenging the second loss of his career, which came at the hands of Dillian Whyte.
The pair fought the full twelve round distance in London back in 2018, with Whyte coming out on top via unanimous decision. The on-paper results don’t tell the full story though.
Parker was down in the second round, but the damage was sustained from a head clash rather than a punch. There was no question as to the legitimacy of the left hook that sent him down again in the ninth, though.
The away fighter showed incredible recovery to survive the shot, and took over from then on, painfully close to having Whyte stopped in the twelfth but thwarted by the final bell.
Parker told Sky Sports that he wants another shot.
“Dillian Whyte. That’s the one fight that I would like to fight again. I respect Dillian for what he’s done in his boxing career. We had a great first fight, I’d love to [run it back.]”
“Listen, he’s done very well since then, and I’ve done okay but it would be nice. If I can get past Jack Massey in good fashion, I would love the opportunity to fight Dillian Whyte again.”
“Watch out, cause I’m going to come for you.”
"𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗲… 𝗜'𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂!"🐺🤛@joeboxerparker is confident he wins a rematch with @DillianWhyte in 2023💪 pic.twitter.com/UIxtMthRqH
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) January 3, 2023
The loss was a blow to Parker’s career as it followed a defeat to Anthony Joshua, leaving the New Zealand native forced to climb the division’s ladder again.
Since then, he’s racked up six wins, but a knockout at the hands of Joe Joyce in 2022 set the former champion back once more.
With Manchester’s Jack Massey standing in his way on January 21, Parker knows that a win once again lets him call out the bigger names in the weight class.