Joseph Parker (30-3, 21 KOs) will be fighting cruiserweight Jack Massey (20-1, 11 KOs) next month on January 21st at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
This will be the first fight for former WBO heavyweight champion Parker, 30, since he was stopped in the eleventh round by the unbeaten Joe Joyce last September.
Parker took a beating by the 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joyce, so it’s not all that surprising that he’s opting for a lesser foe after what he went through in that contest.
Being matched against Massey gives Parker a good chance of winning and looking impressive. It’s important that Parker shine in this fight because his career has stalled out since losing his WBO title to Anthony Joshua in 2018.
Not only was Parker beaten in that fight, but he also lost his next match against Dillian Whyte the same year by fighting passively until the twelfth round.
It was a winnable fight for Parker if he’d fought with some aggressiveness, but he waited until the 12th round before he showed a sense of urgency and couldn’t pull it off.
After that defeat, Parker burned through the next four years of his career, fighting exclusively tune-up level opposition, like journeyman Derek Chisora x 2, Alex Lepai, Alexander Flores, Shawndell Winters, and Junior Fa.
The 29-year-old Massey has won his last four fights since losing to Richard Riakporhe by a 12 round unanimous decision in 2019. For Massey to be fighting Parker, he’s got to believe that there’s weakness there.
Parker vs. Massey will be taking place on the undercard of the middleweight clash between Chris Eubank Jr and Liam ‘Beefy’ Smith. Another interesting fight on the card is unbeaten cruiserweight fringe contender Richard Riakporhe (15-0, 11 KOs) battling former WBO champion Krzysztof Głowacki (32-3, 20 KOs).
“I was a little surprised. They mentioned all these other heavyweights, and then they mentioned Jack Massey. He’s probably the only one that wants to take the fight,” said Joseph Parker to Boxing Social.
“He was actually begging Boxxer, ‘Please give me a fight. Give me a heavyweight so I can fight in Manchester and fight in front of my home crowd.’
“He’s tough, and he’s got balls. He’s obviously taking this challenge. I think he’s hungry to show his people what he can do in the heavyweight division. I think it’s going to be a tough challenge.
“He’s coming straight up for a top fight. It’s going to be a good challenge for both of us,” said Parker.
