Joseph Parker

Parker scored an impressive unanimous points win in his rematch with Derek Chisora in Manchester on Sunday. As the year winds down, the focus now falls on where the heated heavyweight division is heading in 2022.

WBC champion Fury has a mandatory challenge to take from Dillian Whyte, but negotiations are struggling and Arum suggested Fury could even vacate his belt, raising Parker or former world champion Andy Ruiz Jr, as worthy alternatives for a UK stadium fight.

Parker's boxing revival is on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the former world heavyweight champion has showed he has plenty of strings to his bow during lockdown.

The New Zealander attempted to lift the gloom by starring in uplifting videos while in quarantine, first showing off his moves in a recreation of the 'Dancing Prime Minister' scene from the film Love Actually.

Parker then strutted his stuff while lip-syncing to The Foundations' smash hit Build Me up Buttercup, also demonstrating his prowess with a guitar and on the piano.

Parker continued his revival by stopping Shawndell Winters in February to extend his winning streak to three fights.

The New Zealander has no idea when his next bout will be due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the former WBO champion revealed quarantine life has further fuelled his determination to rise to the top.

He told Stats Perform: "Time off like this is really important. It's not something that we choose to happen, but I guess everyone can use this time to reflect on our lives and think about what makes us happy and what we want to do.

Parker will take on American Eric Molina on June 29 in Providence, Rhode Island on the undercard of the WBO middleweight world title fight between Demetrius Andrade and Maciej Sulecki.

The bout marks the beginning of the second phase of Parker’s career – and the start of the road to becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Fightnews.com reported that Parker and American Jarrell Miller turned down an opportunity to fight Usyk, according to his promoter, Alexander Krassyuk.

Usyk (16-0, 12 KO's), 31, is the current undisputed cruiserweight world champion, but wants to move up a weight class to take on the best in boxing.

Cruiserweight is the weight division below heavyweight.  

Higgins took to Twitter to on Sunday to deny that they'd rejected a deal to fight the Ukrainian, tagging the reporter in the post.

The former WBO world champion has fallen to seventh in the ratings produced by the self-proclaimed 'Bible of Boxing', with Britons Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury filling the top two spots, followed by American Deontay Wilder.

Cuban Luis Ortiz, American Dillian Whyte and Russian Alexander Povetkin round out the top six, with Parker next.

"If that's how they rank it, then of course, I don't have much to say about that," Parker told RadioLIVE's Sunday Sport. "It's highly respected.  

Parker will fight Flores at Christchurch's Horncastle Arena on December 15 in what will be his first fight in New Zealand since May 2017.

The 26-year-old South Aucklander has endured a challenging year, losing his WBO title to Anthony Joshua in April in Cardiff, and then losing in his next bout to fellow British heavyweight Dillian Whyte in July in London.

The back-to-back defeats have seen Parker slip down the rankings, and he will need to claim some emphatic victories by knockout if he wants to contend for a heavyweight belt once more.

Parker's former promoter Dean Lonergan told RadioLIVE last week that fighting Hunt would be the perfect comeback fight for the former WBO heavyweight champion - who has lost his previous two bouts.

The 26-year-old lost to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte respectively

Hunt - who has one fight remaining on his UFC contract - has lost three of his last four fights inside the Octagon, but more importantly has never fought a professional boxing fight in a 19-year combat sports career.

Hearn says the 26-year-old former WBO boxing champion is a calibre fighter, who can go up against the best in the heavyweight division.

"There is a lot of depth now in the heavyweight division," said Hearn.

"Even the guys that are losing are available for big fights, not with AJ.

"But (Joseph) Parker will come back in a big fight, (Alexander) Povetkin will come back in a big fight."

Joshua defeated Russian boxer Povetkin via a seventh round TKO yesterday at Wembley Stadium, to retain his WBA, IBF and WBO titles.

Home favourite Whyte dropped his opponent twice but had to climb off the canvas himself in the 12th round, forcing him to hold on for the final bell to secure a unanimous points decision in a pulsating main event at the O2 in London on Saturday.

However, while all three judges were in agreement over the winner, scores of 113-112, 115-110 and 114-111 demonstrated the close nature of the bout.