Parker has been out of the sport following a drug-testing controversy on the day of his fight against Fabio Wardley. Not long after being stopped in the 11th round, news broke that he tested positive for the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine and that he faced a lengthy suspension.

He always denied his guilt and, in August 2026, was finally cleared when his suspension was lifted after he submitted evidence that a nutritionist employed during his training camp was a regular user of the drug and that it had contaminated something he had ingested.

Before that, Parker was on a fine run that saw him stop Martin Bakole and beat both Zhieli Zhang and Deontay Wilder on points. The former WBO champion’s record sits at 35 wins from 40 fights, and he is just 34 years old, so he still has plenty of time to work his way back to the top.

Speaking to Boxing News, promoter Frank Warren revealed when the New Zealander is back in action next month.

“Joe Parker is fighting in Germany; he’s on the show in Dusseldorf.”

His comeback will be on the undercard of the Agit Kabayel and Nelson Hysa’s WBC heavyweight world title fight at the 60,000-capacity Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf.

Although an opponent has not yet been named, there are rumours that his promoter Queensberry will be using the outing to tune him up for a potential world title showdown against stablemate and WBO champion Daniel Dubois in early 2027.