Joseph Parker has revealed a conversation with his wife has been behind his quick turnaround, with the former WBO world heavyweight champion due to return to the ring next month.

Parker will welcome impressive cruiserweight Jack Massey to the heavyweight division in Manchester on January 22, looking to bounce back from his knockout loss against Joe Joyce in late September.

While many expected Parker to take same time off after that loss, the 30-year-old was adamant he wanted to be back in action quickly. In booking the bout against Massey he will do exactly that, and has returned to Morecambe to link up with coach Andy Lee.

In order to conduct his fight camp for the bout, Parker left his family and the New Zealand summer Christmas for the cold UK winter. Speaking to Sky Sports UK about the fight, Parker said his wife was the reason behind his return to the UK.

“I was at home training but my wife said, ‘You need to get a fight.’ I was training with no purpose and she said, ‘Get back over to England and train and fight again.’ That’s why I’m here, thanks to my wife,” Parker said.

Despite going into the fight against Joyce as the lower ranked of the two fighters, Parker saw his number plummet following the loss as he fell from No 2 to No 8 in the WBO rankings. Massey is ranked inside the top 10 at cruiserweight with the WBO (10) and IBF (6), and holds the IBO world cruiserweight title.

However, a booking between him and Parker has bewildered many, given the Englishman has never fought at heavyweight before.

“A lot of people are saying ‘why are you coming back to Morecambe when it’s nice and sunny in New Zealand? Nice summer, you’ve got your family there, you’ve made some money and you’ve achieved some good things,’” Parker told Sky Sports UK.

“I’m just going to stay and focus. That’s why I left my family, so I could put in the work.

“I just love boxing. I love the challenge. I think a lot of fighters, they love the challenge of boxing. It’s not only the training it’s the challenge of who’s in front of you. You study, you pick them apart, you watch and you learn,” he said.

“I have everything I need. All I want to do is train and fight.”