Heavyweight contender Joseph Parker 35-3 (23) could sidestep a second fight with Zhilei Zhang 26-2-1 (21) in favour of another rematch.
The 32-year-old New Zealander picked himself up off the canvas twice to defeat Chinese southpaw Zhang, 40, by majority decision in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
Zhang has a rematch clause in his contract that he is expected to execute but if he doesn’t, Parker’s team have another plan in place.
The name in the frame is Joe Joyce 16-2 (15), who defeated Parker by 11th round knockout in September 2022.
“The contract is for the Zhang rematch but these things do vary if everyone agrees,” Parker’s promoter David Higgins told Sky Sports.
“If there was a better option then we would look at the better option as long as everybody agrees. Those discussions are to be had.
“Joseph’s instructions to me were he wants to fight the best in the world, he wants to fight opponents ranked above him, that’s where his head is at.
“He wants to fight Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk, but you’ve got to be patient and take your opportunities so you don’t rule anything out.”
The career of Britain’s Joyce, 38, hit a roadblock in the form of Zhang last year, who stopped in twice in back-to-back bouts.
Last weekend Joyce returned to the winner’s circle with a knockout of Kash Ali 21-3 (12) in the 10th and final round.
Parker claimed the WBO interim title with his victory over Zhang, putting him in line to face the winner of the undisputed world title clash between WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) and WBC titleholder Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) set to take place in Saudi Arabia on May 12.
“He’s interim WBO champion which means he’s the automatic mandatory for the WBO title so if he’s prepared to wait and things operate as they should he should be offered a title shot in due course. You would like to think immediately,” Higgins continued.
“No disrespect to Anthony Joshua, he’s looked good in his last few fights, but the opponents were nowhere near the level Joseph has boxed so Joseph should really be ahead of Joshua in the pecking order.
“But it doesn’t feel that way such is the way boxing works, even if you beat the best you have to be patient.”
A combination of ring activity and dietary changes have breathed new life into Parker’s career. He has boxed five times in the past 15 months for five wins – including a wide points victory over dangerous former WBC champion Deontay Wilder 43-3-1 (42) in December – and has added nutritionist George Lockhart to his team.
“I think it was an almost complete performance by Joseph Parker,” Higgins said of Parker’s most recent win.
“We’ve followed his ups and downs but it was wonderfully gratifying for the Parker team to see him fight to a plan and deliver a plan and up the pressure.
“He got knocked down and had he lost his nerve at any point Zhang would have finished him off. He continued to execute the plan which is very encouraging, it showed an old dog can learn new tricks.
“He’s not old in calendar years but he’s probably fought the most top-quality opponents of anybody in the game. There’s a lot of experience.”
