Joseph Parker woos dangerous heavyweight, Deontay Wilder removed from WBA’s top fifteen

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Tyson Fury’s friend and sparring partner Joseph Parker is enjoying his win over Deontay Wilder, trying to sign an agreement with Anthony Joshua, while Wilder has gotten removed from the WBA’s top fifteen.

Parker’s promoter David Higgins said recently to Sky Sports that options were many for his Parker, but that Anthony Joshua was a ‘merit-based’ opponent.

Parker’s daring strategy against Deontay Wilder on December 23 and the unanimous verdict it inspired among the judges are still making news. This is because nearly everyone expected Wilder to achieve another knockout during the bout.

Following the competition, sounds of surprise are still going on among boxing fans who were not lightly disappointed by the former WBC heavyweight champion’s effort.

Deontay Wilder has also lost his spot as the number one WBA challenger to Congo’s Martin Bakole, and cannot be found among the sanctioning body’s top fifteen.

However, it does not seem the demotion would stop David Higgins from pushing for a match between Joseph Parker and Anthony Joshua.

‘Joseph has earned that fight in my opinion and the Saudis would see merit in Parker against Anthony Joshua,’ Higgins had said. ‘It might not be next, there might be a bit more work to do but I think that’s the fight fans want to see. It’s a merit-based fight.’

Anthony Joshua who won his own bout against Otto Wallin in the same card is looking to become a three-time world heavyweight champion, and the fastest road to that seems to be a match with Filip Hrgovic. Hrgovic is the IBF’s mandatory challenger, and the strap is expected to become homeless shortly after Tyson Fury faces Oleksander Usyk on February 17.

Higgins added a provoking element during his conversation with Sky Sports, calling Joshua high-risk.

‘We’ll fight Anthony Joshua in a heartbeat,’ he said. ‘Everyone knows Joseph will fight him next but I am not sure that’s an option.

‘We’ll obviously look at any option and see what comes forward. I can’t speak for their [Anthony Joshua] team, but they are probably trying to rebuild to a point and have a big fight against the likes of Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk.

‘Maybe Joseph, especially after the way he handled his business with Wilder, is probably seen as high risk.’

Deontay Wilder has promised to be back but not said how and when, while Anthony Joshua would likely be training hard under Ben Davison to face either Tyson Fury, Oleksander Usyk, or Filip Hrgovic in the near future.