Boxing: Joseph Parker closing in on world title shot

Joseph Parker, left, faces off with Jason Pettaway this week. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Joseph Parker's corner sees tonight's bout with Pettaway as part of road to the top

Joseph Parker's promoters believe their man is only six fights from a world title shot which could happen as early as March next year.

Parker's fight against American Jason Pettaway in Manukau tonight has been called "The Road to the Title", and Duco's Dean Lonergan was at pains to stress yesterday that it wasn't an empty promise.

The fact that the 23-year-old Parker, who tipped the scales at a powerful 106.7kg, will soon spar with Wladimir Klitschko suggests he really is about to go up in the world.

Klitschko, the champion of four of the five recognised organisations, has been hoping to spar with Parker for some time and, after the Parker camp has had to decline twice due to a clash of schedules, it seems the Ukrainian is finally about to get his wish.

Parker is ranked 9th in the WBA and 10th in the WBO, but the former organisation is in a state of flux, with Klitschko the "super champion" and Ruslan Chagaev the champion. Currently, there is no mandatory challenger to Chagaev's title, with Bryant Jennings, Alexander Povetkin, Lucas Browne, Tyson Fury, Shannon Briggs, Mark De Mori, Fres Oquendo and Antonio Tarver all ahead of Parker on the rankings, but many - apart from the inactive Tarver - have busy schedules coming up which will affect their positions.

An example is the fact that Australian Browne has been "mandated" to fight Chagaev which means he has one month to cut a deal. Jennings, Povetkin and Fury also have designs on moving up and will be fighting higher or similar-ranked fighters. Losses will affect their standings, with Duco poised to capitalise.

The WBA appears the most realistic in terms of a title shot for Parker, with Chagaev a much less formidable presence than Klitschko.

Lonergan is also interested in making waves in the IBF organisation, in which Parker is not yet rated. Klitschko heads that one too, but there is no mandatory challenger. The second-ranked fighter is Vyacheslav Glazkov, a relatively small heavyweight whom Parker knows from fighting on his undercard in Pennsylvania last August. On that night at the Sands Casino, Glazkov struggled to put away journeyman Derric Rossy, so he would hold few fears for the rapidly improving Parker.

"What we're doing over the next six to 12 months is that we're selecting guys on this list," Lonergan said. "I'm in negotiations with two of those guys now, and I don't want to say who, for our next fight.

"If we get the right guys we will go straight to the top."

Parker's stunning knockout of Irineu Beato Costa Junior, who had never previously been stopped, has helped with not only his ranking but also his upward trajectory in the eyes of Duco. While it costs big money to challenge higher ranked fighters, Duco believe they are in a sound position to do so with a solid sponsorship base.

Lonergan is also in negotiations for a Parker fight in Samoa this year.

Tale of the tape

Joseph Parker
Age: 23.
Height: 1.93m.
Weight: 106.7kg.
Pro record: 12 wins (10 KOs), 0 losses.

Jason Pettaway
Age: 34.
Height: 1.90m.
Weight: 100.1kg.
Pro record: 17 wins (10 KOs), 1 loss.