Parker’s 5-year plan to take on the world
JOSEPH Parker is giving himself five years to try to rule boxing world’s heavyweight division.
The 26-year-old south Aucklander is planning to return to Las Vegas this week to enter camp ahead of a comeback fight after losing his WBO title to Britain’s Anthony Joshua.
A relaxed but motivated Parker is determined to get his career back on track and has given himself a timeline to try to achieve his goal of taking his skills to the next level.
Having had a belt for more than a year and being involved in a mega fight like his battle in Cardiff with Joshua, Parker is hungry to get back in the champion mix.
But he is also adamant that he can control his destiny and has no desire to fight on too long.
‘‘I want to go for another five years hard and after that I will have a rest,’’ Parker told Stuff.
‘‘By 30 or 31 I’m out. I’m going to do something else. I just want to invest properly so that I can get set up for the future.’’
Part of Parker’s immediate investment from his huge financial return against Joshua will be to build a gymnasium at his new home which he has been furnishing since returning from the the UK in early April. He believes that will help his down time between fights.
Parker has been keeping active since the first loss of his career, determined to stay in shape to make a quick return.
‘‘My fitness is good,’’ Parker said, listing his weight at ‘‘around 111kg’’, four more than his fighting weight against Joshua but considerably less than the ‘‘usual 120kg I blow up to’’.
Parker’s early return to Vegas could mean he will miss the birth of his second daughter, who is due to arrive late in June.
He will leave his promoter David Higgins in Auckland to work through the final process of nailing down an opponent.
‘‘Nothing is locked in at the moment. There are some options. Things change in boxing all the time and we are working on a few options we think might be good whether the fight is in New Zealand, the UK or the States,’’ Parker said.
‘‘I’m just excited to get back in the ring and fight and then get back to the top as soon as I can.
‘‘My elbows are good. I’m looking forward to doing some work.’’
Parker was comfortable with his ranking allocations since losing on points to Joshua loss. He is No 6 with the WBO and WBC and No 7 with the IBF ,who have their No 1 position vacant.
‘‘The rankings are pretty good after a loss. The main thing for us is to get a fight locked in soon and, hopefully, that will get us closer to being No 1 and being a mandatory challenger.
‘‘I think it’s important to look good in this next fight. After a loss to Joshua, even though we didn’t get knocked out, a lot of people will be watching to see if we are the real deal.’’
Parker has had plenty of time to reflect on his effort against Joshua and remains proud of his work despite the result.
He believes the experience of being involved in a mega-fight – the buildup and the 12 rounds in front of 78,000 – will help him down the line.
‘‘A lot of people think I would be upset or angry that I lost the fight,’’ Parker said.
‘‘I did everything I could in camp and I did my best to win, so I have no regrets.
‘‘I’ve learned a lot for moving forward in terms of the training we did and being able to handle a big event like that.
‘‘I think, in the future, having big fights will be easier because of the experience.’’
Parker tipped his cap to Joshua being able to control his instincts and adopt a more conservative approach for a victory that leaves the English fighter with the WBA, WBO and IBF titles and eyeing a final unification fight with WBC champion Deontay Wilder of the US.
‘‘I don’t think Joshua wanted to brawl. He boxed real smart. You have to give him credit because usually his fighting style is trying to finish it off.’’
Parker was aware of plans to have outstanding amateur David Nyika join him in camp in Vegas and hoped that eventuated.
‘‘I think he is a great prospect, he has done extremely well,’’ Parker said of the Hamilton prospect.
‘‘No one has won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games for a long time, so to get two back-toback, he should be very proud of that,’’