A rematch between Joseph Parker and Dillian Whyte could be in the works after Parker’s surprise decision to sign with BOXXER and Sky Sports. 

The former WBO heavyweight champion had been expected to face Joe Joyce next, having seemingly agreed a fight for next month only for it then to be pushed back to September because the wife of Andy Lee, Parker’s trainer, was due to give birth. 

Yet it was announced on Saturday night that Parker had agreed a deal with BOXXER instead, putting a kibosh on Frank Warren’s plans for a Joyce-Parker fight. 

Being as Parker comes from New Zealand, it might seem an odd signing, although he is no stranger to Britain as he has boxed in the UK five times and trains with Tyson Fury in Morecambe. 

The signing shows that Sky Sports still have ambitions to make big heavyweights fights, despite rumours in recent days that Anthony Joshua could walk away from them to sign with DAZN, having had every one of his professional fights on Sky. 

“The great thing about Joseph Parker is that he will fight absolutely anyone,” said Ben Shalom, CEO of BOXXER. 

Top of Shalom’s wishlist is a rematch with Dillian Whyte, who is also understood to be a promotional free agent and looking to rebuild his career after being stopped by Tyson Fury in April. 

The pair met at the O2 Arena in 2018 when Whyte won a unanimous decision. However, the fight was controversial, as Parker was dropped by a clash of heads in the second round, which referee Ian John-Lewis called a knockdown.  

Parker had been winning the round, so the ruling turned a 10-9 Parker into a 10-8 round for Whyte, making the difference between a Whyte win and a draw. Parker also seemed dazed for the following rounds after the incident, before finishing strongly to have Whyte clinging on at the end. 

Other heavyweights in the BOXXER camp include Hughie Fury, who faces Michael Hunter on July 2 in Manchester. There would be little appetite for a rematch between Parker and Fury, though, as the two of them met in one of the worst heavyweight title fights in recent memory for the WBO title in 2017. 

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.