David Higgins, promoter for former heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker, says his boxer is looking to stay very busy in 2024.
Parker, one of the most active top heavyweights in the sport in the last twelve months, saw action four times in 2023.
He closed the year in a big way, with a stunning upset decision win over heavily favored former WBC champion Deontay Wilder. Their bout was a featured attraction as part of the ‘Day of Reckoning’ event last month in Saudi Arabia.
To prepare for the fight with Wilder, the New Zealand star received a lot of advice and training assistance from close friend and WBC champion, Tyson Fury, who faced Wilder on three occasions.
“I think Tyson was very influential in creating the opportunity and helping Joseph by letting him use the gym, and I know they have done some sparring together as well,” Higgins said to Sky Sports. “You can’t get better sparring than Fury, the lineal heavyweight champion, it was very helpful.
“For me, it was the best performance of Joseph’s career. The reason I say that is because those massive, global, pay-per-view fights have a special pressure about them, the eyes of the world are upon you and against his opponent, a murderous puncher, one of the most feared in history, you can’t really describe what that pressure is like until you’ve been in that situation. A couple of times he came up short [in his career], but this time he maintained a cool head, was patient, showed intent, stuck to the fight plan, withstood the pressure. He didn’t just win but dominated Wilder.”
Parker is looking to build on his momentum by getting back in the ring as soon as possible, with a March date being targeted.
“I think we’ll look at every option and Joseph wants to be busy and he’s looked at his best fighting regularly,” Higgins said.
“He’s got some momentum going so the intent is to continue. We don’t want to step backward to weaker opponents. We want to keep the level up and keep busy. If he can fight again in March, he’ll be grateful to everyone who has helped facilitate that.”