Bareknuckle boxer Mickey Parker ‘devastated’ after latest postponement of his British title fight

Mickey Parker, right, has had his British title fight postponed for a third time in 2020. Picture: Dan Harbut Photograhy

The Leigh Park bareknuckle boxer's scheduled battle with Dave Thomas for the vacant cruiserweight belt at the 02 Indigo this Sunday has again been postponed because of the coronavirus.

It represents the third time in the space of six months that Parker has seen his hopes of fighting for the British crown on the BKB 21 show card dashed.

Originally, the title fight was scheduled for April but the pandemic put paid to that.

The show was then planned to take place in May before being rearranged for Sunday.

Parker, who has been through intense training camps in preparation for all three postponed fights, thought this weekend was finally going to be his time.

He admitted he was 'gutted' when discovering the news, but reiterated there was nothing anyone could do.

‘I thought we were finally there and I’m absolutely gutted,' he said.

‘I’ve done another camp, everything was right again and at the last minute it’s been called off again.

‘We’re absolutely devastated but they’ve put it back to November this time.

‘Everything had gone fantastic, sparring has been good - I’ve been all over the country sparring.

‘I’m feeling better than ever, ready to take my chance and it’s been taken away.

‘It’s devastating, but it’s the world we live in at this moment. It’s no-one’s fault and there’s nothing you can do about it.'

Parker has sold in excess of 200 tickets for the show and hopes he can deliver for them when the fight finally takes place.

But with the 37-year-old now preparing to head into a fourth training camp in just over seven months, he admitted to just wanting to get the job done.

Parker added: ‘I wouldn’t want to do it without them (his fans).

‘But as a fighter, I’ve trained, trained and trained, I just want to fight now.

‘I just want to get it done, everyone is waiting for the chance to get it done.

‘It would be fantastic (to land the British title).

'You can take the highs and lows out of it, but to finish on a massive high would be brilliant.

‘I’ll dust myself off and we’ll go again.'