Joseph Parker won't have any shortage of future opponents, after his victory over Derek Chisora, says manager David Higgins.
Parker, 29, earned a split-decision victory over the Brit at Manchester, keeping alive his hopes of fighting for a world title again in his career.
The Kiwi heavyweight held the WBO heavyweight belt from December 2016 until March 2018, before his first career loss to current holder Anthony Joshua.
His latest win was the final bout of Parker's three-fight contract with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing and while the Kiwi's camp are eager to renew, they're already planning what's next.
"Frank Smith from Matchroom and I had a conversation this morning, he's going to call tomorrow," Higgins tells Newshub.
"I know that Joseph Parker and Andy Lee, the trainer, want to back up and fight again as soon as possible, maybe as soon as early July/late August, if possible.
"I think there'll be a lot of big names wanting to fight Joseph now, because it went the distance.
"It's kind of made the job easier in terms of lining up some big names. It's all options on the table and that's a discussion to be had with Matchroom tomorrow.”
Both Parker and Chisora expressed their interest in a rematch after their bout and while Higgins is open to the prospect, he's also adamant that bigger fish are waiting to fry, if another title challenge is to eventuate.
"A rematch with Derek is one of the options, but it's got to make sense in terms of career progression, rankings, the other opportunities available, the money and the location.
"It's a matter of weighing everything up, but if the rematch with Chisora had the most merits, then we'll look for a rematch with Chisora.
"It depends on the economics of it, but in terms of trying to have another world title shot, it's not necessarily the best option.
"It might make better sense to have a kind of 'fight off' against one of the other boxers in the top three or five."
Despite doubts over his future among heavyweight boxing's elite, the stats don't lie as to Parker's recent form.
Since losing to Dillian Whyte in July 2018, Parker has won his last five bouts, and he ranks third behind Ukraine's Olesksandr Usyk and Britain's Joe Joyce among contenders to challenge Joshua.
But should Joshua be forced to give up the WBO belt, Parker looms as a possible challenger for his former title, provided he stays in contention with Usyk and Joyce.
"There's talk of [Anthony] potentially vacating the WBO title, in terms of his two fights with Tyson Fury,” says Higgins. "If that becomes available, then Joseph could challenge - potentially - for the vacant title.
"The main thing is to keep busy and keep winning, and the title shot will come. He's sort of nudging up there - another win and he'll be at pole position."
