At just 22, Parker has claimed domestic, Continental, and a fringe WBO title in bulldozing his way through the opposition and is constantly linked to a big-punching clash with WBC-ranked Oceania rival Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne.
In the past few weeks, 35-year-old Browne and his promoter Ricky Hatton have dismissed any chance of an imminent fight, although 6ft 2ins knockout artist Parker is content to keep pushing on and face the rugged Aussie further down the line.
“Ricky is Lucas’s promoter, and it is his job to build up his fighter the best he can,” Parker told World Boxing News.
“I have now been a pro for a little over two years and have had 10 fights, whilst Lucas has nearly been a pro for coming up six years and has had double the number of fights of me. He also had, I believe, a bunch of professional MMA fights before that, and looking at those stats, it’s easy to see how Mr. Hatton is making those statements.
“I think that Lucas and I will definitely fight one day as it will be a huge fight in the South Pacific. Plus, if we both keep winning, maybe also on the world stage as we continue to move up the world rankings.”
Browne stands on the verge of a potential shot at Wladimir Klitschko after pushing his way to number eight in the WBC ratings and recently impressed Parker by out-pointing previously unbeaten Andriy Rudenko.
“Lucas has some great names on his resume, and I believe the Rudenko win at 24-0 was great for him. He is a big strong guy who uses his physical strength to wear down his opponents and has excellent power, as his 18 KO’s from 21 wins show. Lucas had definitely improved a lot over the past two years as I look at his decision to win over Clarence Tillman in August 2011 and then what he did in the rematch in December 2013 when he knocked him out in two rounds.”
Asked whether Browne would ultimately stand a chance against Klitschko, Parker stated: “I think Wladimir is currently in a class of his own, and it is hard to see any of the top guys testing him right now.
“I think that Lucas would stack up well against the likes of Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, though. In 2012, Lucas beat Jason Gavern in the third round, and just last month, Wilder beat Gavern at the end of round four, so it shows that he measures up good with those guys.”
JOSEPH PARKER NEXT FIGHT
On his own career, Parker has an upcoming contest with Sherman ‘The Tank’ Williams to concentrate on and feels he has plenty of time to prove his worth against the top contenders.
“That’s right, I am fighting Sherman Williams, and the fight will take place on October 16 in Auckland, New Zealand,” confirmed Parker. “Williams is a real tough guy as in 61 fights he has only ever been stopped once.
“I will be defending my PABA belt and my WBO Oriental and Pacific Heavyweight Championships, and I plan to fight at home again in Hamilton on December 6.
“I feel like I am improving all the time. I’m only 22 years old and am still in the early stages of my career. Saying that I will fight whoever my trainer Kevin Barry and team at Duco feel is the right opponent for me at the right time of my career, and I will keep training hard to develop as a heavyweight contender,” he added.
Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay for tweets of upcoming news on WBN.
