Boxing: Parker camp having difficulty nailing down the next opponent

The Joseph Parker camp would like to leave Auckland for Las Vegas in a few days with the heavyweight's next opponent - preferably a world-ranked fighter - confirmed, but it's proving to be a frustratingly difficult process.

The boxer's promoter Dean Lonergan of Duco Events said after Parker beat Sherman Williams in a unanimous decision over 10 rounds at Trusts Arena on Thursday night that the best heavyweights were scared of fighting the 22-year-old for fear of tarnishing their records.

Parker himself said it might not be as simple as that, but, either way, his opponent for the main bout at the Fight for Life event in Hamilton on December 6 is yet to be organised and the clock is ticking.

"We're in the middle of organising opponents for Joseph ... and I've got to tell you, it's incredibly hard, there's a lot of people that we have put big-money offers into and they just won't fight him," Lonergan said. "There are a number of guys in the top 10 walking away going 'no thanks'. Lucas Browne is one of them, Travis Kauffman is another."

Trainer Kevin Barry added: "Dean has offered big purses to them, more money than they've ever been paid before, and they're all turning the fight down. Dean must have sent out 30 proposals to ranked guys but we're having a bit of trouble."

Lonergan said: "It's very, very frustrating.

"We've put a lot of pressure on our match-maker Stuart Duncan and he's out there combing the world. I'd like to think in the very near future, before Joe goes home ... we'll have someone in the bag."

Parker, who looked fresh and unmarked after going 10 rounds for the first time in his career, said later: "I don't think people are running. A lot of them are already busy and already scheduled to fight again."

His victory over the tough Williams, which allowed him to retain his WBA PABA and WBO Oriental heavyweight titles and extended his record to 11-0, keeps him on track for a world title fight in the near future. In August before Parker comfortably beat journeyman Keith Thompson in Pennsylvania, Lonergan suggested the South Aucklander would be aiming for a title fight next year, but that has been pushed out to probably 2016 at the earliest.

Barry said: "We have work to do. Dean would like us fighting for a world title next month but for me it's more like 18 months to two years."

Parker, ranked 11th in the WBO going into the fight, was happy with his long-term strategy. "At the schedule we're going at the moment I'm happy we're taking the right fights," he said. "I think if we keep training hard and developing my skills and techniques that in two years' time I can be a better beast than I am now."

Williams, 42, hit Parker with several overhand rights, but it was his ring-craft and unsettling tactics - hitting below the belt and after the bell and break - which would have been valuable in terms of adding to Parker's experience. Despite that, Parker looked reasonably comfortable, the only disappointing element his inability to knock Williams out as promised.