Joseph Parker, Bryant Jennings reach deal for Aug. 18 fight?

Former WBO heavyweight titleholder Joseph Parker (24-1, 18 KOs) will look to bounce back from his first defeat this summer when he’ll take on Bryant Jennings (23-2, 13 KOs) on August 18th in Atlantic City, NJ. At least that’s what Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told RingTV on the two sides agreeing to terms:

“We’re very excited with the fight … it will be a 12-round fight,” Arum said. “Great event opening up Ocean Resorts to boxing in Atlantic City. It’s a fight you don’t know who’s going to win and it’s world-class heavyweights.”

However this morning WBN reported a quote from Parker’s promoter David Higgins that an agreement hasn’t actually been reached at this point, and that Alexander Ustinov is still a possible opponent for Parker.

“Contrary to media reports, a fight between Joseph Parker and Bryant Jennings has not been confirmed,” Higgins told World Boxing News in a text message before sending out the quotes as an official statement.

“Whilst we are in negotiations with the Jennings camp, we have other options on the table, including Alexander Ustinov.”

Higgins then said that no agreement with Jennings would be reached until their side is fully satisfied with the terms of the proposed bout and they have formally signed a contract.

Parker, 26, is most recently coming of a disappointing loss to Anthony Joshua in March in a bid to unify heavyweight titles. Ultimately he just didn’t do enough to earn the nod on the scorecards and admitted as much himself.

Meanwhile Jennings, 33, has won four straight since dropping consecutive fights to Wladimir Klitschko and Luis Ortiz in 2015 — but his last four opponents weren’t exactly sitting on top of the heavyweight heap. If this fight comes off it could be Jennings’ last opportunity to work himself back into title contention where he has previously fell short.