Joseph Parker: I don't have Covid

New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker has doubled down on his insistence he doesn’t have Covid.

American broadcaster ESPN linked Parker to the Covid outbreak in the Tyson Fury camp that has delayed the British star’s trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder.

Parker has been training with Fury in Las Vegas and told Stuff at the time of the report that he was “keeping healthy and safe” and that his family who are with him in Las Vegas were “all good too”.

He attended the UFC promotion where Conor McGregor was beaten by Dustin Poirier last Sunday, sparking surprise from some fight fans and a report at World Boxing News which said the “Covid-positive Parker should have been self-isolating”.

But Parker said reports around his health were incorrect.

"I found out I had Covid in the paper," Parker told Newshub, scoffing at the ESPN report.

"Before I went to the fights, I returned a negative test. Everything is all good here with me and my family."

Parker continues to put up social media posts of his training sessions in the United States.

He is waiting on confirmation of his next fight, likely to be a rematch with British heavyweight Dereck Chisora after Parker’s contentious points win in their May fight in Manchester.

Meanwhile, Fury’s British promoter Frank Warren expressed disappointment and frustration at the unwanted development and said they were still working on a new date for the fight against Wilder after the postponement from the original July 24.

"It's looking some time in October, which is a great shame it's been postponed, but it is what it is," Warren told BT Sport.

"Unfortunately, they in the camp and himself got tested positive for Covid. There's nothing we can do about it.

"It's the times we live in, so the fight is postponed. Pushed back.

"Very frustrating. Really frustrating for Tyson. By the time he gets into the ring, he will have been out for nearly 20 months. That's a long, long time."