Joseph Parker may face former world title challenger next

Joseph Parker recently signed a promotional deal with BOXXER and Ben Shalom. The former world heavyweight champion looks set to face Otto Wallin in his first fight with his new promotional company.

Before Parker signed with BOXXER, the New Zealander was supposed to fight Joe ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce on the 2nd of July. The fight was announced during a Frank Warren show: namely the WBC world heavyweight championship bout between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte. The fight was postponed indefinitely when Parker dropped out due to his trainer's wife entering labor.

Joe Joyce's promoter, Frank Warren, was still convinced that he could rebook the bout for a future date. However, once Joseph Parker was officially unveiled as BOXXER’s latest signing, the fight was off. BOXXER is aligned with Sky Sports in the UK, while Frank Wareen’s Queensbury Promotions have a deal with BT Sport. The two broadcasters rarely work together to make co-promotion fights, so a bout between the pair would be hard to make.

Parker's new promoter, Ben Shalom, said:

"We are still hopeful of the Dillian Whyte rematch and Joe Joyce fight for him, but we have had an offer for him to fight Otto Wallin."

Since then, Joseph Parker has been widely criticized by Warren and Joyce and accused of ducking the fight. A fight between the pair would have pit WBO No.1-ranked Joe Joyce against No.2 Joseph Parker.

Watch Frank Warren share Parker's texts and break down what happened:

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Joseph Parker vs. Otto Wallin could be an intriguing bout

Otto Wallin is not a bad fighter, but he is largely seen as a step down from Joe Joyce. Joyce is the undefeated, mandatory challenger for the WBO world heavyweight championship—Wallin on the other hand, has suffered defeat before in his career.

That solitary defeat, however, was the most impressive performance of Wallin’s career. Wallin delivered multiple cuts to Tyson Fury and came closest to defeating ‘The Gypsy King’.

One could argue that it was the worst performance of Fury’s career, given that Fury split with trainer Ben Davison after the bout. Fury would then join up with SugarHill Steward, and since embracing Steward’s tutelage, Fury has stopped all of his opponents.

Watch Tyson Fury vs. Otto Wallin below:

Wallin has since picked up a few wins, but the most high-profile opponent he defeated was Dominic Brezeale. Wallin's scheduled fight with Dillian Whyte did not help his career, either—Whyte pulled out of the fight, citing a shoulder injury.

Wallin’s promoter, however, was not convinced and claimed Whyte pulled out so he could move straight to a Tyson Fury fight without risking defeat against Wallin.

Joseph Parker has had a resurgence of his own since joining trainer Andy Lee. With Lee, Parker has never lost a bout.