Joseph Parker has ditched promoters Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn, for now - with his camp confident he's in a "wonderful position" to negotiate fights more freely, with ambitions to tackle blockbuster bouts in the United States.
Newshub understands Parker's relationship with Matchroom has been put on ice, with the 30-year-old now a free agent - making it easier to negotiate with other promoters and fighters outside Hearn's stable of boxers.
It comes after back-to-back wins over Brit Derek Chisora, also under Matchroom, which have put Parker back in a strong position in the heavyweight ranks.
Last week, Parker threw down the gauntlet to Mexican Andy Ruiz, who he beat to claim the WBO heavyweight title in 2016, for a rematch.
Ruiz is just one name Parker's camp has eyes on, with the potential to take on Deontay Wilder, while Brit Joe Joyce is also a realistic option.
Parker's manager David Higgins, who is in the United States looking for the Kiwi's next fight, says being a free agent brings major benefits.
"Effectively, that means he can fight anywhere with any TV network and work with any promoter - which is a good thing," Higgins tells Newshub.
"When you're younger on the way up it's helpful to have a big promoter, but it can be limiting in that some of them [promoters] don't get on with each other and are tied to certain TV networks.
"It's basically all options on the table, and I think we'll land something quite big in that window between April and June.
"With Joseph, now he's got a worldwide profile and a proven pay-per-view draw, he doesn't really need that.
"So right now we're free to have discussions with say Frank Warren's team about Joe Joyce, who's been breathing down our neck."
Parker will remain with trainer Andy Lee, with the Irishman overseeing strong improvements in the Kiwi between the two wins over Chisora.
The US is the preferable option, as it's a market Parker hasn't yet conquered.
"Joseph's a household name in New Zealand, Australia, parts of Asia, the UK and parts of Europe. America's kind of next.
"Tyson Fury's probably the only one of the current crop that's gone (there) and strung together some wins. The holy grail of boxing is to be on a pay per view card on both sides of the Atlantic."
Just as Parker has been released from the shackles of being tied to a promoter, the relationship with Hearn and Matchroom is still a strong one.
"Where we left it was, we work well together, and they're good to work with, there were no arguments or anything like that.
"It's good because if there's a Matchroom fight that makes sense, they know we're good to work with and we can quickly make a deal."
