Former heavyweight titleholder Joseph Parker (26-2, 20 KOs) is expected to make his first appearance of 2020 as he’s reportedly reached a deal to face Shawndell Winters (13-2, 12 KOs), per ESPN sources. The fight will be a scheduled 10-round contest that will be held on the undercard of Mikey Garcia vs Jessie Vargas on February 29th.
After back-to-back defeats to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018, Parker has since bounced back against lesser opposition, scoring two straight stoppage wins. Parker has since been linked to discussions relating to a possible fight with Oleksandr Usyk, but as it appears Anthony Joshua won’t be stripped of his WBO title while he takes on Kubrat Pulev (to defend his IBF title) there’s no need for a vacant title fight.
His opponent, Winter, 39, certainly doesn’t even appear to be on the level of someone like Joseph Parker, and his professional resume is looking mighty thin. So I hate to sound like a Negative Nancy but expect this to be little more than a showcase outing for Parker as he waits in a holding pattern for another opportunity to compete for world title.