Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Four years after losing the WBO World Heavyweight title to Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker is on the cusp of having another shot at the WBO crown.

The Parker management team have signed papers that will see the Kiwi heavyweight cross paths with unbeaten Englishman Joe Joyce (14-0-0), with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger for the WBO Heavyweight title.

It has been a long and winding road for Joseph Parker in a 32 professional fight career that kicked off ten years ago.

Parker quickly worked his way through the mandatory no-names, before his first big test against former world ranked contender, Brian Minto, just two years into his professional career.

The Spark Arena in Auckland hosted Parker's attempt to win the WBO version of the biggest prize in professional boxing, in December 2016.

His win over Andy Ruiz was greeted with some skepticism by the New Zealand boxing public.

That was later put to bed, when Ruiz toppled Joshua for the combined IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO editions of the world title.

However, Parker's world came tumbling down, after he lost his WBO title to Joshua in a mega-million dollar fight in London during March 2018.

A further loss to Dillian Whyte some four months later, had Parker on the verge of entering the boxing wilderness.

While Parker rebuilt his record against opponents in New Zealand, his victory over fellow Kiwi Junior Fa in the bout dubbed the New Zealand "Fight of the Century" in 2021, exposed some deficiencies in Parker's arsenal.

A split with longtime trainer Kevin Barry saw Parker join the stable of Andy Lee in London.

Much of the attraction of the Lee gym was unbeaten heavyweight Tyson Fury as a stablemate.

Lee brought a new intensity to Parker, who engaged in two contests with a heavyweight title gatekeeper Derek Chisora last year.

Parker re-inked his title credentials with two victories over the British fighter.

An eight count and two knockdowns in the second Chisora fight, earned Parker a ranking of five in the highly respected Ring Magazine world rankings, which is considered the unbiased authority on world boxing.

Parker sits just behind the big guns of the of the heavyweight division, trailing Lineal Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury; IBF, WBA, WBO titleholder Oleksandr Usyk; Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.

However, getting past Joyce at the Manchester Arena on September 24, 2022, won't be a walk in the park, with plenty of British punters hard-earned cash saying that their fancy will lower the colours of the New Zealand boxer.

To the winner go the spoils, with plenty of talk of the victor at the Manchester Arena booking an engagement with the winner of the Usyk verses Joshua mega-fight – with victory against Joyce likely to propel Parker to another very big payday.