It wasn’t all that long ago that Joseph Parker was sitting at a press conference in Auckland, Kevin Barry to his side, answering questions about his unanimous decision victory over Junior Fa. It was pretty much just two months ago, yet on the weekend he steps into the ring in Manchester against Derek Chisora – a mere 64 days after that Fa fight. That’s his quickest turnaround between fights since the 62 days between Carlos Takam and Solomon Haumono. That Takam fight was the one that pushed Parker from prospect to contender. It was the end of his unserious days. The Haumono one was a bit of keep-busy which he was always likely to win, that he dutifully did by TKO in the fourth, so going straight from one camp to the next wasn’t too much of a risk. Safe to say that the Chisora fight is a different scenario.

Derek Chisora was the dude that Parker was supposed to fight before that extremely strange situation with the spider bite happened... DC’s still yapping about how Parker dodged him. Which is rich of a guy whose only top-15 ranking is a 15th place on the WBC ladder. That’s less than what Junior Fa could claim (although Fa has since dropped off both rankings he formerly had)... not to mention he’s coming off a unanimous decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk last October. Plus they’ve rescheduled so, like, what’s the big deal?

Parker vs Chisora was on the horizons even before the Junior Fa fight, which was rude as hell but that was mostly hype coming from the English side of things and you know what they can be like. Regardless, this is a funky fight for Parker. He was in an awkward spot against Junior Fa where a loss would be crippling to him whereas a win wouldn’t really do anything for him, other than some slight shifts on the rankings (he’s up to third in the WBO – with Usyk the current top challenger). Here on the other hand we’re talking about two guys who occupy a similar space in the division.

Chisora is 37 years old with a 32-10 record. A solid fighter who can certainly land a punch but who has generally lost whenever he’s stepped up to the top tier of fighters. Fair play for continuing to take those fights though, this bloke has lost to Vitali Klitschko, to David Haye, and twice to Tyson Fury. Like Parker he has beaten Carlos Takam. Like Parker he has lost to Dillian Whyte (twice, in fact). His is basically the career that Joseph Parker is at risk of being left with if he loses here... but worse because at least Chisora can guarantee you an entertaining scrap which hasn’t always (/often) been the case with Parker.

All of which means that from a fan’s perspective this should be a great spectacle. Two well-matched opponents who’ll each be a little bit desperate to get that win. Points to prove. But for Joseph Parker there’s a fair bit more happening as well. It may only be a 64 day turnaround but jeez he’s packed some yarns in. For one thing his name suppression lapsed and it was revealed that he was the “high-profile sportsperson” caught up in a drug smuggling court case. Then far more relevant to the task at hand he only went and split with Kevin Barry. It was a split that after the Fa fight, and his stunted performance there, had come to feel like a necessary one if either party was willing to be honest about it all... sure enough Parker swiftly made the jump. Quick chats with Tyson Fury for some advice and next thing you know he’s in Morecambe in camp with Tyson and his trainer Andy Lee.

Many boxers change trainers often throughout their careers. The long term thing he had with Kevin Barry is definitely not the way that everyone does it. Tyson Fury has worked with a heap of them and he had big raps on Andy Lee so there you go... the fact that Fury’s training for a monster unification bout with Anthony Joshua – the biggest heavyweight fight in close to two decades when it eventually happens – was a healthy bonus as well.

It’s early days right now and whether Andy Lee sticks around as Parker’s full-time trainer might depend on how he looks against Chisora. But, mate, he’s raving about him so far. The breath of fresh air seems to have done him good plus he’s also mentioned a few specifics about Lee pulling back his training regime so he’s not over-working himself, about Lee keeping at him to stay active in his mind as well as his fists, about “letting it flow” rather than chasing a knockout. Obviously lip service doesn’t count for anything compared to the actual expressions in the ring but it’s promising so far. Lee only retired as a boxer in 2018 so he’s new to this side of the ropes but he sure got some immediate results out of Tyson Fury after they linked up for the second Deontay Wilder fight. You know the one where he mashed him with a seventh round TKO? Yeah that’s some decent pedigree.

The closest dude to Derek Chisora in Parker’s past is Dillian Whyte. Heavy hands, plenty of knockout power, perhaps a little reckless/overly aggressive. That fight was the biggest bummer of Parker’s career because he approached it so wrong, banking on being able to tally him up on the scorecards in front of a partisan crowd and then some bad luck with an accidental head knock cost him not only a point, as it was erroneously ruled a punch, but also his composure for a few rounds as he laboured to get his legs back underneath him. Then when he finally flipped the switch late on he ran out of time to get the knockout despite having Whyte looking shattered.

That loss poured carnage on his reputation coming straight after the defeat to Anthony Joshua. Two losses in a row and all your contender buzz is gone. Gotta work your way back up from there and yet in the almost three years since... Junior Fa is the best guy he’s fought. And that one only mattered in Aotearoa. The British boxing scene, where all the power/money lies these days and which Parker has launched himself even deeper into now with an English trainer to go with an English promoter (still got Dangerous Dave Higgins as his manager at least), not only didn’t know anything about a lad from Papakura whose mostly been based in the United States but they also weren’t gonna get up and watch in the middle of the night.

Stagnation isn’t even the right word. Because if you stay still in this game, you fall behind. Joseph Parker was once a (convenient) heavyweight world title holder but now he’s on the outside looking in and he’s gotta get past the gatekeeper Derek Chisora if he wants entry back into Mount Olympus, a task he’s gotta figure out with a new trainer and on a short turnaround. No easy feat... but damn it’s nice having Parker back in relevant fights again.

Oddly that’s coincided with a serious lack of buzz back in New Zealand. Most people would probably be surprised to realise he’s even fighting this weekend (plus after the big promo of the Fa fight where there was maximum availability with two likeable locals both doing their full camps in Aotearoa, it doesn’t help that he’s on the other side of the world for this one). But maybe that’s the point. Parker’s been standing still for three years. His membership card for contendership has expired. He’s gotta earn his way back and this is where that starts.

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