Anthony Joshua Targeted for Revenge as ‘Unfinished Business’ with Daniel Dubois Heats Up — All Roads Lead to Joseph Parker
Anthony Joshua: If Joseph Parker beats Fabio Wardley, Oleksandr Usyk would have to box him next to retain the WBO title and his undisputed championship status; But Usyk could still choose to vacate that belt; Parker sees former titlists Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois as alternative options
Joseph Parker still believes a rematch with former conqueror Anthony Joshua can happen.
In 2018 Parker was beaten for the first time as a professional when he lost his WBO world championship to Joshua.
In the subsequent years he has fought his way back into world title contention and, after winning a WBO Interim title, he is currently the mandatory challenger for the heavyweight championship he used to hold.
But he still craves the chance to avenge that loss to Joshua and AJ has recently described Parker as “a competitor” for him.
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New Zealand’s Parker believes Joshua is a fight that could be made, potentially even for a world title if undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk were to vacate any of the belts in his possession.
“I’ve been wanting a rematch with Joshua,” Parker told Sky Sports. “I want to avenge those losses.
Parker has never been keen for the WBO title to become vacant and for his Interim belt to be upgraded to the full world championship.
“It’s a bargaining chip, being the champion of the world,” Parker acknowledged, but he added: “You want to win it so it would be nice to fight someone to win it. I know you can get elevated to it and it gives you a bit more bargaining power. But it would be nice to fight for it.”
The WBO have ruled that the winner of Parker’s fight with Fabio Wardley next month will be the mandatory challenger for their world title and that Usyk must take that defence next if he is to retain their championship.
“They’re saying the winner of this fight gets Usyk next. They can say whatever they want to say, but Usyk holds the decision who he wants to fight,” Parker reflected.
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“That fight’s there but it’s whoever Usyk wants to fight. For now I’m just going to fight who’s in front of me and just enjoy it all.”
Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois have all lost to Usyk, but Parker is adamant that he poses the greatest threats to the Ukrainian.
“If that opportunity came I feel like I can show something different,” Parker said. “Experience, skill, belief, power, speed, movement, I feel like I’m getting better and better as a fighter even though now I’m 12 years in the game.
“I know what I can do. I back myself and believe in what I can do. But that’ll be there once I do this fight.”
He is not banking on his shot at Usyk happening, though he didn’t suggest the heavyweight world champion was avoiding him.
“Usyk’s faced everyone, cruiserweight division, heavyweight division, you can’t say that he’s scared, maybe he’s just calculated in the options that he has,” Parker mused.
“He says one more fight but I’m sure that the way that he trains and the way that he looks after himself, he’s still got a lot to give and he’s shown that in the fights he’s had.
“He showed way more power, sitting down on his shots and got Dubois out of there. So even at 38 years old, the way that he looks after his body and the way that he trains, he’s got the perfect formula.”
