Boxing: Joseph Parker - 'I need a devastating, one-punch knockout'

Joseph Parker's next opponent is yet to be confirmed but whoever it is should expect an attacking onslaught from the Kiwi heavyweight who stated today: "I need a knockout, you know, a devastating knockout, a one-punch knockout."

Parker will expect to achieve this when he takes the ring at Christchurch's Horncastle Arena on December 15 for what is likely to be an entertaining show.

His last fight there in July 2016, which ended in a stoppage for Solomona Haumono, went down extremely well there with Cantabrians and those from further afield and so Parker's promoter David Higgins had little hesitation in agreeing to go back.

It has been well documented that Parker hasn't achieved a stoppage victory since he knocked out Alexander Dimitrenko in Auckland two years ago and that he desperately needs another to put his career back on track.

After the Dimitrenko win, Parker fought Andy Ruiz to win the WBO world heavyweight title by majority decision before going the distance against Razvan Cojanu, Hughie Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, the latter two unanimous decision defeats.

Knocking Whyte down in the 12th round of their dramatic fight in London in July showed Parker does have power, if not yet a complete appreciation of the tactical side of the sweet science, but this 10-week camp in Las Vegas – he leaves on Saturday – should be instructive.

It is interesting, too, that Parker has made contact with Lennox Lewis and is keen to get input from the former undisputed world champion after Lewis' revealing interview on the 26-year-old's flaws in the Herald in August.

Other than that, little changes for Parker, who will leave for Vegas after a good break with his family and holidays in Hawaii and Samoa. He is in a rebuilding phase but is only one or two fights from a potential re-match with Whyte or possibly Joshua.

"I feel like we had a great start to our career," he said. "We've had two losses now and a lot of people are saying retire or stop. I've made some all right money and I'm set for life now but I still have goals and my goal is to be a two-time world champion and a unified world champion.

"As long as we have those goals and we work together as a team, I feel like this is a re-build and that it will take us a few fights to get back to the top again.

"I'm going to go into camp without an opponent but I know that David is working hard behind the scenes to try to lock someone in and like he said, it's not that easy. People say they want to fight and we send them a contract and they don't want to fight or they ask for too much money.

"We've got 10 weeks so that's a good length camp that we need to get in great shape and work on a few things.

"I don't care about the opponent they put in front of me, I'll fight anyone."

Higgins said: "I'd expect to see someone durable who's had no losses or maybe one loss, youngish, athletic, no pushover, so it's a decent main event. I have to find someone who fits that bill and who wants to fight Joseph Parker.

"If it's another week or two it doesn't bother me," Higgins said in terms of when he would like the opponent confirmed. "The opponent is cutting down their training time if they run down the negotiations so it's a game of cat and mouse."