Zach Parker is not under any illusion of being guaranteed an immediate crack at Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez even with a win this weekend.

However, cementing his pace as interim WBO titlist and mandatory challenger for the undisputed super middleweight champion is all the motivation needed for Parker to shine.

The stakes are high for Parker’s clash with countryman John Ryder in their all-UK super middleweight showdown this Saturday at The O2 in London. In theory, the winner should be named as next in line for Alvarez (58-2-2, 39KOs).

In reality, the winner is in a terrific position to secure a career best opportunity in the year ahead.

“Of course we have to get through this fight—but once we beat John Ryder, the sky’s the limit,” Parker told BoxingScene.com, though adamant that all of his focus is on this weekend’s BT Sport/ESPN+ headliner. “The super middleweight division is absolutely buzzing right now. I fancy myself in there with guys like Canelo, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant just had a good win, Edgar Berlanga… there’s loads of us. I’m buzzing to get in there with any of them.”

Parker (22-0, 16KOs) has been the number-one contender in the WBO super middleweight rankings since an eleventh-round knockout of Rohan Murdock in March 2020, just prior to the pandemic. The 28-year-old from Derbyshire, England is yet to be afforded the chance to cash in on that status.

Instead, Parker has been forced to watch Guadalajara’s Alvarez make history in becoming the division’s first-ever undisputed champion after defeating a trio of unbeaten titlists in Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant. The WBO has previously stated that Alvarez will be required to honor the sanctioning body’s mandatory title defense obligation by May 2023, which should bode well for this weekend’s winner.

Parker will first focus on things well within his control, particularly rising to the occasion in his biggest fight to date. In Ryder (31-5, 17KOs), he faces a 34-year-old southpaw who was considered unlucky to not prevail in his November 2019 clash with Liverpool’s Smith who was the unbeaten WBA super middleweight champ at the time.

Ryder has won three straight heading into Saturday’s twelve-round main event, including a split decision victory over Daniel Jacobs on February 12 at the famed Alexandra Palace in the London suburb of Muswell Hill.

Parker enters on a career-long 55-fight inactive stretch, though having stopped his last five opponents. Much of his year-long ring absence is attributed to twice watching plans fall apart for an interim title fight with now former two-division titlist Demetrius Andrade (31-0, 19KOs). The same stakes are available for his bout with Ryder, and with the expectation of either next facing Alvarez or defending the full version of the WBO super middleweight title should the Mexican superstar instead seek to avenge a loss to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11KOs).

Either way, a bright future is within reach with a proper showing this weekend.

“After this fight, everyone’s gonna know me,” vowed Parker. “Everyone’s gonna know about Zach Parker after the 26th.”

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