WBO World heavyweight champion Joseph Parker will not be fighting again in 2017.
There were schedulled plans for the Kiwi fighter to defend his title in December against either Japanese heavyweight Kyotaro Fujimoto or former WBA World heavyweight champion Lucas Browne but Team Parker has opted to sit the rest of the year out.
Parker’s promoter Dave Higgins has confirmed that it’s highly unlikely that his fighter steps into the ring again this year according to boxingscene.com
The biggest reason seems to be lack of interest from television networks and fighting against lesser known opponents is a risk not worth taking at the moment told Higgins.
“It’s a risk-return business and when you have that world title, because it’s so hard to win it, you don’t want to take a risk all that unless the money and opportunity is right. We assessed several options and they were good – but there just wasn’t enough money on the table and it’s not worth risking the belt … we took the decision to look at other opportunities on our terms early next year,” said the promoter.
The WBO champion recently defended his belt against Hughie Fury in Manchester and won via unanimous decision. Parker will fight defend again in 2018.
“He would have done the job if the right opportunity presented itself but he is also very at peace and looking forward to having a bit of a break,” explained Higgins.