Joseph Parker says he’s received no qualms with doubtlessly going through his “nice buddy” Tyson Fury if the 2 win their upcoming fights.
Fury is about to rematch Oleksandr Usyk on Dec. 21 for Usyk’s WBC, WBA, and WBO titles, whereas Parker will face Daniel Dubois for Dubois’ IBF title on Feb. 22.
“If Tyson beats Usyk — like, I need to battle in one of the best on the planet, and if he beats Usyk, he’s one of the best on the planet,” Parker stated. “He’s an awesome buddy of mine, however I’ll battle anybody and everybody to be one of the best, as a result of I do know I’m one of the best.”
Parker (35-3, 23 KO) is a former WBO titleholder, successful that belt in 2016 earlier than dropping it in 2018 after a pair of profitable defenses, however is seemingly at a brand new profession peak in the mean time. The 32-year-old from New Zealand has received 5 in a row following a loss to Joe Joyce in 2022, and his 2023-24 wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang have the Kiwi extra well-known than ever, with essentially the most big-time momentum he’s ever had.
Dubois, in fact, won’t be a straightforward out, and previous Usyk, you may argue that proper at this second, they’re the heavyweights with essentially the most momentum within the division. Dubois, 27, bounced again from losses to Joyce and Usyk to make a case for himself because the 2024 Fighter of the 12 months with stoppage wins over Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua.
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO) is seeking to avenge his defeat to Usyk (22-0, 14 KO), and if he does, there’s each purpose to consider we might even see a rubber match between the 2 of them in 2025 forward of every other potential battle.
However Parker does sound very critical that friendships and the like wouldn’t deter him from going after the most important, finest fights on the market, and the identical is probably going true of Fury on the opposite aspect of the coin. Each, once more, have loads to fret about earlier than that’s even the actual dialog, but it surely’s good to listen to.
