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Former WBO heavyweight titleholder Joseph Parker will return to action on December 15 in New Zealand, and now has an opponent for his homecoming.
Parker (24-2, 18 KO) will take on Alexander Flores (17-1-1, 15 KO) in Christchurch as he Parker looks to end a two-fight losing streak and finish 2018 on a higher note heading into the new year.
Parker, 26, lost his WBO title to Anthony Joshua in a unification bout on March 31, and followed that up with a hard-fought defeat against Dillian Whyte on July 28. Both of those fights took place in the United Kingdom.
Flores, 28, is a California native who faced Charles Martin, a future short-lived titleholder, in a matchup of unbeaten prospects back in 2014. Martin knocked Flores out in the fourth round. Since then, Flores has fought four times, going 3-0-1, with all of his wins coming in club fights in Tijuana. On paper, he’s a tune-up opponent for Parker, which was thought to be the idea for whomever got this date. But he’s got a shot to score a big win, easily the biggest fight of Flores’ career.