Former heavyweight world titleholder Joseph Parker aims to pick up where he left off and resume his career after testing positive for cocaine when he lost to Fabio Wardley last October. Parker has just recently announced that his suspension has been lifted, which has also been confirmed by the British Boxing Board of Control, although they declined further comment.
“I’m pleased to confirm my provisional suspension is lifted and I’ll be back in the ring soon. I’ve been advised to say no more for now
while details are finalized. Thank you to all my supporters,” Parker said on Wednesday.
Where Parker will specifically go from here remains to be seen. At age 34, Parker still presumably has at least some time to attempt to rebuild and make another run at a title, but it certainly won’t be much easier. In recent years Parker has scored notable wins over Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, and Martin Bakole, but he’s also been stopped by Wardley and Joe Joyce.
At his best, he’s certainly a formidable opponent, but he’s not always so there will be lingering questions as to exactly how much he still has left in the tank. Word on how exactly Parker plans on positioning himself going forward should make itself apparent sooner than later if he is in fact to get back into the ring any time soon.
