NEW ZEALAND’S Joseph Parker missed out on a fight against Dereck Chisora this Saturday (October 26) due to an illness and now hopes David Price, his replacement, doesn’t scupper that potential fight for good.
Price is one of the hardest one-puncher hitters in the heavyweight division and Parker, a former WBO heavyweight champion, won’t be ruling out the possibility of him upsetting the odds against Chisora at London’s O2 Arena tomorrow.
His preference, however, is that Chisora comes through the test unscathed and then opposes him at some point next year.
“You never know what happens, but I’m hoping we can get a fight. If not, then I think we’re looking at early next year,” Parker told Sky Sports.
“If he (Chisora) gets an early knockout and he looks sensational, and if Matchroom want to put on another big fight in Saudi, or another fight on another day then I think it can happen, but at the moment the cards are quite full, so we’ll see how it plays out.
“I’m really interested in this fight. I wish I was the one in London fighting. I reckon if I was in London, I could have put on a great show against Chisora.
“David Price, I know he’s a great fighter with a lot of power, but I hope he doesn’t ruin my chance of getting in there and fighting Chisora. I still want that fight.”
If anything, a potential Parker vs. Chisora matchup will benefit from its postponement. Now, providing it gets rearranged, the fight has the kind of storyline and spite it would have lacked first time around.
“I want to fight him and shut him up,” said Parker, who was accused of running scared by Chisora. “I know he’s got a big mouth on him. You get fighters like him who speak their mind and say whatever they want to say, but he’s got a big mouth and I want to shut him up.”
On Saturday, Joseph Parker will be praying David Price doesn’t get there first.
Promising light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi was meant to take a decent step up in class on November 2 at Manchester Arena, but an illness has unfortunately ruined that plan.
Buatsi, set to fight world-ranked Australian Blake Caparello, took to social media this morning to explain the reason for his withdrawal.
“I was advised to wait until a replacement fight was lined up but unfortunately due to illness and after speaking with doctors, I have had to pull out of my fight against Blake Caparello on November 2nd at the Manchester Arena,” Buatsi said.
“I am so disappointed to not be able to fight in front of the Manchester fans as it was a challenge I was relishing. I just haven’t been able to train at the intensity required to fight. I plan to rest up and get back in the gym as soon as possible. More news coming soon.”
