Joseph Parker Eager To Stay Busy After Upset Win Over Deontay Wilder

Joseph Parker is hoping to stay busy in 2024.

Parker is coming off an upset win over Deontay Wilder on The Day of Reckoning Card in Saudi Arabia in a massive event. The Kiwi entered the fight as a sizeable underdog, but he boxed well and pressured Wilder to arguably win every single round.

According to David Higgins, the promoter of Joseph Parker, he believes Tyson Fury’s advice was crucial for the Kiwi to get the win.

“I think Tyson was very influential in creating the opportunity and helping Joseph by letting him use the gym, and I know they have done some sparring together as well,” Higgins said to Sky Sports. “You can’t get better sparring than Fury, the lineal heavyweight champion, it was very helpful.

“For me, it was the best performance of Joseph’s career. The reason I say that is because those massive, global, pay-per-view fights have a special pressure about them, the eyes of the world are upon you and against his opponent, a murderous puncher, one of the most feared in history, you can’t really describe what that pressure is like until you’ve been in that situation. A couple of times he came up short [in his career], but this time he maintained a cool head, was patient, showed intent, stuck to the fight plan, withstood the pressure. He didn’t just win but dominated Wilder,” Higgins continued.

Not only was the win big, but Higgins says Joseph Parker is looking to build off that momentum and return very soon.

“I think we’ll look at every option and Joseph wants to be busy and he’s looked at his best fighting regularly,” Higgins said. “He’s got some momentum going so the intent is to continue. We don’t want to step backward to weaker opponents. We want to keep the level up and keep busy. If he can fight again in March, he’ll be grateful to everyone who has helped facilitate that.”

At this time, it’s uncertain who Parker will face in his return to the ring.