Not even the allure of becoming a two-time heavyweight titlist can distract Joseph Parker from the task at hand.

Up next for the former WBO beltholder is an all-New Zealand showdown with unbeaten Junior Fa (19-0, 10KOs), a fight which has been a long time coming on the domestic level. The two collide live on DAZN from Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand (Saturday, 1:30 a.m. ET; expected main event ring walk 4:30 a.m. ET).

The regional pairing allows Parker to remain active while there are several moving parts in the heavyweight division. A win this weekend will position the 29-year old South Auckland product for bigger fights. His name has been mentioned as an attractive option for the winners of two separate interim title fights.

Alexander Povetkin defends interim WBC heavyweight strap in a March 27 rematch with Dillian Whyte in Gibraltar, while Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk are still working out terms for an ordered interim WBO title fight. Neither mean a thing, however, without taking care of present day business.

“Everyone can talk about the other fights in the future,” Parker stated shortly after Friday’s pre-fight weigh-in, where he weighed 240.1 pounds for Saturday’s main event. “My focus is purely on Junior Fa and that’s the respect I give him.

“There’s no talking about other fights if I don’t get past him.”

Parker (27-2, 21KOs) previously won the WBO belt in a 12-round majority decision over Andy Ruiz in their Dec. 2016 vacant title fight between unbeaten heavyweights. Two successful defenses followed before dropping a 12-round decision to Anthony Joshua in their March 2018 multi-belt unification bout between undefeated titlists.

Talks of returning to the title stage fell a bit flat following a 12-round decision to Whyte in July 2018, having since won three straight. The current win streak began with a 3rd round knockout of Alexander Flores in Dec. 2018, which took place in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Following two straight stateside appearances, Parker returns home for the first time since the Flores fight. The heavyweight normally trains out of Las Vegas but opted to keep it local for this camp given the ongoing pandemic and travel restrictions which come with it. There is also the respect of facing an unbeaten foe in Fa (19-0, 10KOs) and the magnitude of this weekend’s event as it relates to the local economy.

“I’ve had a tremendous camp here in New Zealand. It was my first time training here in a long time,” notes Parker. “It was great to be here and get the work done while surrounded by my friends and family. I feel like we’ve had some great work. A lot has been said and now it’s just time to get to work [on Saturday].”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox