In recent years the boxing world has focused on a few, high-profile heavyweight fighters. Big money bouts between Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua have dominated the front pages, while others have competed on the undercards.
Among the many boxers quietly going about their business is Joseph Parker. The man from New Zealand overcame early setbacks in his career, including defeats to Joshua and Dillian Whyte, to become the world champion. For now, he holds that WBO title on an interim basis, but there’s every reason to believe that Parker is the real deal.
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Emerging Champion
Having previously held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018, many believed that Joseph Parker’s days at the top were over. While Usyk, Fury, Wilder and Joshua did all the talking, the Kiwi stayed in the background and he was only occasionally mentioned as a potential title contender.
Parker got his chance for redemption in October 2023 when he took on Simon Kean for the vacant WBO and IBF heavyweight titles. Going into the fight in Riyadh, boxing betting markets listed him as the overwhelming favourite, and he duly claimed the win via a third round knockout.
Kean is a competent fighter, but he isn’t in Parker’s class. The Kiwi had reclaimed his title, but tougher challenges were around the corner.
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Rising to the Challenge
Parker had little time to prepare for his first title defence. Less than three months after defeating Simon Kean, the Kiwi headed back to Riyadh to take on the formidable Deontay Wilder. While his opponent was reaching the end of his career, he remained a serious threat, and Wilder headed into the contest with an impressive record of 42 wins, three defeats and one draw.
Ahead of time, the battle looked to be an even one but, from the first bell, the American seemed subdued. Parker took full advantage of his opponent’s tactics, outboxing Wilder throughout. While the fight went the distance, the result was never in doubt, and Joseph Parker sailed through via a unanimous decision.
Following the usual round of call outs and negotiations, Parker was eventually lined up to defend his titles against the Chinese fighter Zhilei Zhang. His opponent went into the fight as the defending WBO champion and, on paper, it promised another tight contest.
At the veteran stages of his career, Zhang seemed slow, but what he lacked in speed he made up for in strength. Parker was knocked down to the canvas twice, but recovered to win the fight via a split decision. While tougher challenges may await, the calibre of Joseph Parker’s previous opponents suggest he’s already the real deal.
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Next Up
Like any world champion, Joseph Parker is constantly quizzed on the identity of his next opponent. At the beginning of March 2025, the sporting media was suggesting that a showdown between the Kiwi and Oleksandr Usyk was on the cards. Later in the month, however, Parker stated that he was unsure as to who would face him next.
Even more recently, the Daniel Dubois camp confirmed that they were no longer pursuing a bout with Usyk. According to those reports, the British fighter’s preference was to take on Joseph Parker after a showdown with Usyk seemed unlikely.
Dubois is the current IBF world champion, and a unification fight would make sense. It would also provide closure after a scheduled bout between the two men had to be cancelled. Dubois v Parker had been set for early 2025, but the IBF champion had to withdraw due to illness. Parker easily overcame the replacement, Martin Bakole, and has subsequently called out Dubois.
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Due Respect
Joseph Parker has risen through the ranks to become a heavyweight champion once again. In retaining his title, he has fought off tough opponents in the shape of Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, but it may be fair to say that he doesn’t always get the respect he deserves.
Like all heavyweight fighters competing today, a fight with Oleksandr Usyk is seen as the ultimate test. The Ukrainian remains undefeated in 23 professional fights, but is tough to tie down to confirmed contests in the present climate. There are also suggestions that he may drop back to his former cruiserweight level.
Parker may also suffer because, unlike some of his contemporaries, he tends to stay out of the limelight. Boxers such as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder enjoyed a greater media presence, while the man from New Zealand prefers to do his talking inside the ring.
All of this is a shame because Parker is the real deal. He’s taken on top fighters across his career and has thoroughly deserved his world championship titles. A win over Oleksandr Usyk may earn him greater global recognition, but Joseph Parker has already done enough to go down as one of boxing’s greatest ever heavyweights.
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