Joseph Parker would be more than happy to fight Joe Joyce if it meant he could secure a rematch with Anthony Joshua, revealed his manager David Higgin.  

The former WBO heavyweight champion picked himself up from off the canvas to claim a split decision over Derek Chisora at Manchester Arena on May 1.

Parker - who failed in his attempt to dethroned unified champion Joshua in March 2018 - is currently ranked third by the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

"I think it's a good time to be ranked No 3 with the WBO," Higgins told Sky Sports.

"The key is to keep busy and keep winning. After a relatively uncertain period in the division, if you're up there, then the next year or two could be quite good.

"Places could shuffle around and a world title fight might come up for those that are there at the right time."

Higgins also claimed Parker would relish the possibility to secure his third shot at the heavyweight crown. 

Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs) has been officially installed as the mandatory challenger for the WBO heavyweight title.

When asked if he would be open to facing the 'Juggernaut', Higgins told Sky Sports on Tuesday: "Yes, sure thing.

"They are welcome to contact me.

"Yes, we would fight Joe Joyce."

However, Higgins has also refused to rule out a rematch with Chisora, although he admits that time is running out. 

"It's whoever makes sense [for Parker]," he added.

"I think the Chisora fight was a close fight and they are both household names, so a rematch could make sense there. We're just mindful of our time being run down.

"When we fought Dillian Whyte, it was seven odd weeks. Chisora's team, when he was with David Haye, tried to give us only seven weeks, so we pulled the pin. Then the last fight was only about eight weeks.

"There's talk of the end of the year, but we haven't seen a contract yet. I don't think we'll take the fight unless we get a decent nine or 10 weeks to prepare.

"I think the latest date in the year is probably that early December window, and then it runs out of time, so talk is cheap, we need to see a contract."

Joyce's manager Sam Jones has also confirmed that his fighter would be interested in a potential fight with Parker, with the caveat that they are also considering other options as well.

"Nobody will be excited to fight Joe but, unfortunately for them, he's ranked at No 1 so somebody will have to fight him," he explained.

"Joseph Parker is a great fight - if it presents itself, we'd take it in a heartbeat.

"Andy Ruiz Jr, Luis Ortiz. It's a real possibility it could happen. Joe is game for either of those.

"We are looking forward to making big, big fights now for Joe. I've made it clear that we only want big fights and that's what we'll get."

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