The long-brewing battle between Joseph Parker and Dereck Chisora appears imminent. Parker’s manager, David Higgins, tells Sky Sports that the fight is “pretty close to being done” and that they “received an offer [August 25th] which [they] will accept.” Higgins did not specify the exact date, only that it would take place in October in London, but Mike Coppinger reports that it will join the undercard of the October 26th Regis Prograis-Josh Taylor WBSS final on DAZN.
Both Parker (26-2, 20 KO) and Chisora (31-9, 22 KO) are 2-0 since competitive defeats to Dillian Whyte. New Zealand’s Parker traded knockdowns with Whyte en route to a decision loss before rebounding with knockouts of Alexander Flores and Alex Leapai. Chisora saw his back-and-forth rematch with “The Body Snatcher” end via 2018 Knockout of the Year candidate in the 10th, then won a bizarre UD over Senad Gashi that he quickly outdid by demolishing Artur Szpilka last month.
Assuming no further promotional shenanigans or Parker deciding not to risk another U.K. fight after some questionable reffing in his recent efforts, it’s a good matchup. Parker didn’t quite pan out the way we’d hoped, but he’s still a quality heavyweight who’s proven his grit and Chisora is, well, Chisora. Both are also in the WBC top 10, so a title shot wouldn’t be too far out of the question next year once the whole Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz-Tyson Fury thing sorts itself out.