Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

There has been plenty of talk in the media about Joseph Parker's likely challenge for a world heavyweight title in the next few months.

The good news is that since Tyson Fury relieved Wladimir Klitscho of three of the world heavyweight crowns last December, the heavyweight division has again come alive.

While the Klitscho brothers of Wladimir and Vitali dominated the world heavyweight titles for over a decade, they were boring fighters who used their size and jackhammer blows to subdue their opponents in mechanical fashion.

No longer did flamboyant American promoter Don King control the heavyweight ranks with his trash talk and hyperbole. However the Klitscho reign held little interest for genuine fight fans, with infrequent title fights becoming little more than a big yawn.

The Tyson Fury victory, brought another trash talker on to the heavyweight stage, which got the punters interested in the glamour weight division again. At the same time, 2012 Olympic heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and our own Joseph Parker were making waves in the ratings.

The upshot of Tyson Fury relinquishing his heavyweight crowns last week is that the contenders promoters are starting to pull the strings that would see several heavyweight title contests in the next six months.

The most likely scenario is Joshua fighting Klitscho in England, with Joseph Parker squaring off with American number one Andy Ruiz which could be held in New Zealand. Unlike when Don King controlled the heavyweight division, the current contenders promoters are in unison about making the fights happen, which could lead to multi-mega dollar unification bouts.

However the only certainty in professional boxing is that the biggest pile of money to be made will ultimately decide who fights who and where the fights will be held.

The latest gossip is that the WBO want a four man box-off to decide their heavyweight crown. The WBO rationale is likely to be that are more sanctioning fees to be made in a box-off rather than a single title fight.

Going back through the years, kiwi heavyweight pugilists have a proud record in the division

Cornishman Bob Fitzsimmons who served his time as a blacksmith in Timaru, before embarking on fighting overseas, could be considered one of the great fighters of post bare-knuckle days of the 1800's. Fitzsimmons won the world heavyweight title in 1897, joining featherweight "Torpedo" Billy Murphy as a kiwi world champion in the earlier days of prize -fighting.

New Zealand has produced several heavyweight contenders over the years, dating back to Gisborne born Tom Heeney, who fought Gene Tunney for the world heavyweight title in America in 1929. Maurice Strickland fought some of the best heavyweights in the world in the 1930's, while David Tua unsuccessfully challenged Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight crown in 2000.

What does the future hold for Joseph Parker in the boxing ring? Ruiz, is another of the young guns (with Joseph) in the heavyweight division and would also bring an unblemished record to a title fight with Parker. Both fighters have fast hands with a title contest unlikely to last the distance.

Success for Parker in a WBO Title decider would propel the kiwi into mega-money fights, while a loss would send the Kevin Barry trained boxer down the ranking and back to the drawing board – only time will tell.