Joseph Parker to fight Alexander Dimitrenko on October 1
Unbeaten heavyweight contender Joseph Parker (20-0, 17 KOs) will fight Alexander Dimitrenko (38-2, 24 KOs) on October 1 at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau, New Zealand.
Parker, who became mandatory challenger for the IBF belt after a points win over Carlos Takam in May, knocked out Solomon Haumono inside four rounds last week and will stay busy when he faces the giant Russian as he continues his preparations for an eventual world title bout with Anthony Joshua.
"Even though there's something in the back of my head in Joshua, you still have to stay focused on what's in front of you," said New Zealander Parker. "If you lose focus, that's the fight you don't get to. I want to stay focused even though we're thinking about Joshua. This is another challenge."
Dimitrenko is a former European champion and has won his last six bouts. But he's fought weak opposition for most of his career and has lost everytime he's stepped up a level - an 11th-round knockout loss to Kubrat Pulev in 2012 and a points defeat to Eddie Chambers in 2009.
However, 6’7” Dimitrenko is a little bit taller than Joshua and will get Parker used to fighter taller, longer reaching opponents.
"We need to put Joe up against some big men," said Parker's trainer Kevin Barry. "There are big guys at the top of the heavyweight division. When you look at Tyson Fury, when you look at (Wladimir) Klitschko, when you look at Joshua, these guys are all tall. These are the guys we are targeting. These are the guys who hold the titles. These are the guys that dictate all of the big purses in world heavyweight boxing. So we need to go after them."
Parker is expected to challenge IBF champion Joshua later this year or early 2017.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn said: "We like the Joseph Parker fight, that's the mandatory, and we'll have to deal with that at some point. Whether that's November, December or whether that's March, April that's a good fight."