Tyson Fury could fight 'great friend' Joseph Parker, claims Carl Frampton - 'Stranger things have happened'

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Tyson Fury could fight his "great friend" Joseph Parker in the near future, claim Carl Frampton and Steve Bunce.

Parker has put himself back in the spotlight with five consecutive victories, with his most recent wins coming against Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, the latter of which saw him crowned the new WBO interim champion.

The New Zealander underlined his resilience and tenacity against Zhang, earning a majority decision win having survived two knockdowns.

Parker and Fury have developed a strong relationship over the years, but the friendship could be tested should Fury get the better of Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 and capture the WBO belt.

That could pit Parker and Fury together for what would be a mouth-watering title fight, and Frampton admits "stranger things have happened".

The Northern Irishman has been impressed by Parker and stressed the importance of his bond with coach Andy Lee.

"Absolutely he’s back. He’s easily in the top five," Frampton told Bunce.

"We talk about Ben Davison and AJ [Anthony Joshua] and their link up, but the job Andy Lee has been doing with Joseph Parker has been incredible.

"I think he’s the most improved heavyweight, certainly of the top guys, and probably a better fighter now than he was when he was a world champion."

Diving deeper into Parker's relationship with Lee, Frampton dissected the pair's interaction during the clash with Zhang.

Frampton recalled: "There’s a discussion in the corner, it’s not just a fighter sitting there being told what to do and not asking questions – he’s talking back, he’s communicating with Andy Lee, and I quite like that.

"The advice was always sound. The one bit of advice that stuck in my head was when Andy Lee was talking to him was, be really careful for the first 30 seconds of each round because that’s when he’s dangerous and he was absolutely right."

Bunce and Frampton both agreed that Parker had won the fight despite being knocked down twice.

Parker is now "right in that mix" for any of the top fights, acknowledged Bunce.

Frampton continued: "It’s not as if he’s calling Fury out but he’s open to a fight with Fury – the year before that they were best mates and that was never going to happen.

"I quite like that. He's done it before with his mates - look at what happened with Derek [Chisora]. Yeah, stranger things have happened.

Bunce added: "Two great friends, families are all together in Morecambe, holidays around the world and then fight each other. What a business."

"It's business, money talks," concluded Frampton.

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