Joseph Parker has announced he will return to the ring "soon" after confirmation his suspension has been lifted following a failed drug test last October. The heavyweight's routine test given to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency on the day of his defeat by Fabio Wardley returned traces of cocaine following the loss by 11th-round stoppage at The O2. Parker, who denied taking any banned substances, could have faced up to a two-year ban from boxing.

However, he has now released a statement confirming the suspension is lifted. "I'm pleased to confirm my provisional suspension is lifted and I'll be back in the ring soon," Parker said. The 34-year-old former world champion lost his belt to Anthony Joshua in 2018 but went into his fight against Wardley in arguably the best form of his career. After a punishing loss to Joe Joyce in 2022, Parker won his next six contests including victories over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.

He put his position as the WBO mandatory challenger to undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk on the line by taking the Wardley fight, a gamble that backfired.