Joseph Parker admits he needs a dominant victory over Jack Massey to stake his claim for a revenge fight against heavyweight rival Dillian Whyte.
The Brit inflicted just the second defeat of Parker’s professional career five years ago, although the New Zealander did put down Whyte in the final round of the contest.
The former WBO champion is on the comeback trail, having been stopped by another Brit Joe Joyce in the 11th round of their punishing bout last September.
Parker suffered his first knockout defeat last time out at the hands of Joe Joyce
However, the 31-year is optimistic that a statement win over Massey on the Eubank Jr vs Smith bill, live on Sky Sports Box Office, could persuade Whyte to accept the rematch.
Speaking at the media workout, he told Sky Sports: “Dream fight would obviously be to fight for a world title, but I want to fight Dillian Whyte again. It was a great, tough first fight, he got the win, awesome for him and I’d like to avenge that loss.”
Should he be unable to secure the desired rematch, Parker has no issue with facing some of the other leading names in the heavyweight division, saying: “You’ve always got an eye on other fighters.
Parker had Whyte down towards the end of their fight in 2018
“Get past Jack Massey, there’s Michael Hunter calling me out. If no-one wants to fight Joyce, I’ll fight him again, but I have to take care of business first.”
Parker’s opponent Massey has only recently moved up to heavyweight, having previously fought at cruiserweight.
He’s emerged victorious from 20 of his 21 fights so far, with his only defeat coming at the hands of Richard Riakporhe, who is also featuring on Saturday’s undercard against former two-time world champion Krzysztof Glowacki.
Richard Riakporhe is the only man to have bested Massey
Despite not quite knowing what to expect from the Englishman, Parker is refusing to underestimate him in what he acknowledges is a must-win fight.
“I’m approaching it like every other fight, like it’s the championship of the world. When you approach a fight like that and you take every fight seriously, you’re going to be in the best condition and that’s what I’ve done in this camp.
“It’s a bit of the unknown what he’s going to come in as weight-wise. I’m respecting him because a fighter who’s going to come up is confident in themselves.
Massey presents an unpredictable challenge to Parker
“There are a lot of cruiserweights that have done great, I’m not saying he’s one of them but there’s potential to do some good stuff in the heavyweight division.
“Every fight you want to look good and you want to make a statement but when you go looking for it, it doesn’t really happen. I want to go out there, enjoy myself and just execute what I’ve been doing in camp.”
Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith is on Saturday January 21, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book it now if you are a Sky TV subscriber or a Non-Sky TV subscriber. Buy tickets here.
