Thursday 22 November 2018 13:13, UK
Joseph Parker has been trading messages of support with Dillian Whyte on social media, but still wants a rematch with the British heavyweight.
The New Zealander is preparing for a must-win fight against Alexander Flores in Christchurch on December 15, while Whyte has been training towards his second fight with Derek Chisora at The O2 on December 22, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Parker suffered a battling points defeat to Whyte in the summer, with both men voicing their mutual respect, and the 26-year-old revealed how they swapped motivational messages ahead of their crucial battles next month.
"We keep in touch," Parker told Sky Sports. "For me, he's one of those guys - what you see is what you get.
"Behind the scenes, he's not fake, he's real, so we keep in touch on social media. I'm supporting him from here.
"I'm supporting him because you go into the ring with that person, you respect that person, and then you become good friends. It's boxing, it's the business. For me, he's a great guy.
"We're just encouraging, keep it up, and that kind of stuff."
The former WBO champion hopes a convincing win over Flores will set up another big-name fight in Britain, and would ideally like to face the Brixton man again.
For me, it would be great to fight him again.
Parker said: "Hopefully getting a great result, and taking care of business, I think next year there will be a lot of options for us.
"The winner out of Whyte and Chisora, there's a lot of names in the UK that we can just come and fight.
"For me, it would be great to fight him again. He's looking at fighting guys like [Anthony] Joshua, other champions. I know I've had a few losses and I've fallen off the top, but we're rebuilding and it won't take long to get back to the top.
"Once I get there, we're happy to fight anyone, because we love challenges."
But Parker's trainer Kevin Barry admits they cannot afford another setback against Flores, who has suffered just one defeat in 19 fights, with 15 of his victories coming by knockout.
"This fight against Alexander Flores has career implications for us," said Barry.
"We're coming off back-to-back losses, which is something that has been hard for us to accept. It's very, very important that we get a good win here.
"Not just a win, but a convincing win to get Joe back on track, so we can focus on bigger and more meaningful fights in 2019."
Watch a huge night of action in Monaco with Yafai vs Gonzalez, Lebedev vs Wilson and Meng vs Buglioni live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm and Main Event from 7.45pm this Saturday.
