Joseph Parker’s long-awaited next fight is finally on the horizon, and, should he get into the ring on the undercard of the Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk rematch in Saudi Arabia in December as expected, he will be ready to throw his weight around in more ways than one.
These days, apart from training, Parker is mainly eating. In a bid to close the weight gap on the big beasts of the heavyweight division, the 32-year-old New Zealander is consuming up to 7000 calories a day.
“Over the last few months my trainer George Lockhart has been feeding me 6500, 7000 calories a day,” Parker told 1News. “It’s a job to eat. Imagine going to the gym and training and doing a job and then coming home and doing another job?”
While Fury’s chance for revenge against Usyk in Riyadh on December 21 has been confirmed, Parker’s place on the undercard against an opponent yet to be determined has not, but that is the schedule he is working towards.
A rematch against Zhilei Zhang of China after Parker was victorious in Riyadh in their first fight in March remains a possibility, although the Saudis, boxing’s new and fully paid-up ringmasters, may have other ideas.
One thing is certain for Parker. After beating the much bigger Zhang over 12 gruelling rounds five months ago, the Kiwi wants to close (or perhaps extend) the weight gap on whoever he fights next.
“I’ve put on all this weight and I feel like it’s muscle weight," he said. "Zhang was 130kg and I was 113kg. If I can close that gap in weight and keep the same speed and stamina, hopefully that will lead to a better performance.”
Parker now weighs 122kg and expects to weight about 118kg in his next fight.
For a man who trains as hard as Parker does, putting on and maintaining that weight requires a lot of eating (and drinking – he consumes four to five litres of water a day).
Breakfast consists of “four or five potatoes, four or five eggs, chicken, sausages, black pudding… breakfast is 800 or 900 calories.”
Most men consume about 2500 to 3000 calories a day.
The extra weight would allow him to tire his opponents more easily and add to a ring presence which has undergone a renaissance since last December when he upset former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder over 12 convincing rounds before rallying from two knockdowns to beat Zhang, one of the more feared heavyweights going around.
“You can throw your weight around but also your opponent has to be more careful about taking punches because you can throw with more power and do a lot more damage,” Parker said.
So the weight continues but so does the wait.
After Martin Bakole upset rising American star Jared Anderson in Los Angeles recently, the smart money is on the Saudis wanting to put Zhang in the ring with Bakole, which means Parker will likely be facing someone else in December.
Undefeated German Agit Kabayel is a possibility after enjoying a renaissance of his own in Riyadh over his last two fights.
“I’ll be happy to get in the ring with anyone – King Kong,” Parker said. “There is a rematch clause and Zhang’s team is pushing for a rematch… [but] I feel like they want to make Zhang versus Bakole.
“They’re both big men - both six foot six, giants of the sport. So if that fight gets made I don’t know who I’ll be fighting.”
Parker, who is 1.93m (about six foot four inches) would have a height advantage over Kabayel. He would also have a weight advantage.
There has been frustration as he waits for an opponent, but Parker said: “It’s given us more time to build so whoever I’m going to fight… I’m going to do some damage.”
His manager David Higgins said: “Joseph works really hard and has made massive changes to his regime in terms of fitness, training, and attitude. And now he’s peaking. I think he’s about to have the best three years of his career.”
David Nyika's cruiserweight fight
The pair are also teaming up to promote Kiwi cruiserweight David Nyika’s fight against Australian Blake Caparello in Auckland on September 14.
If the undefeated Nyika is successful, as expected, he will win IBF and WBO regional titles, promoting his rise up the rankings.
Higgins said: “If David wins this fight he could well end up in the top 10 with both sanctioning bodies. And that really does advance his cause towards a world title fight.”
It’s a similar journey to Parker’s.
“For [Parker] the journey was maybe three or three-and-a-half years and he had a title bout in Auckland,” Higgins said. “For David, we’re on the same journey – fight often… take risks, win, go up the rankings. I really think David could win that title in as little as two years’ time.”
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