MAKE OR BREAK

Ringside at Parker’s London comeback

The weight is good and the wait nearly over. After going nose-to-nose with opponent Dillian Whyte in London yesterday, a relaxed and confident Joseph Parker has pronounced himself ready to make the first step back to where he believes he belongs.

In front of a large crowd at a sweltering Spitalfields Market, Parker weighed in at 109.8kg yesterday, slightly heavier than the 107.3kg he weighed for the Anthony Joshua world heavyweight title unification bout in Cardiff in April.

But as has been typical of this camp, characterised by selfexamination and change after Joshua relieved Parker of his WBO world title belt, the New Zealander didn’t do his usual six-round pre-weigh-in workout which would have had a small effect on his weight.

Trainer Kevin Barry told the Kiwi media after stepping from the stage: “I told Joe yesterday, ‘you look fantastic, you’re not training tomorrow’.”

Whyte weighed in at 117.3kg, meaning he has an 8.5kg weight advantage over Parker, but perhaps significantly, Whyte tipped the scales more than 2kg heavier than his last fight — a knockout win over Lucas Browne — in March.

The 26-year-old Parker is in better physical condition. He is also faster and possesses a better punch variety — at least two reasons why he will be favoured to win once he steps through the ropes at the O2 Arena in London this morning (NZT).

A disparate collection of fight fans and office workers enjoying a cool drink or a bite to eat watched as Whyte and Parker went nose-to-nose on the stage, the Englishman having a final attempt to intimidate in their last meeting before the fight.

“He tried to act like the tough guy,” Parker said in the team bus afterwards before travelling back to a relaxing afternoon at his hotel on the south bank of the Thames.

“He tried to intimidate me by going nose-to-nose. It was lucky he wasn’t breathing and I wasn’t breathing or we would have had some issues.

“I went to the side to get a breather,” Parker said, adding pragmatically: “It’s not going to affect me and I’m not going to affect him.”

Earlier, Parker said in a Sky Sports interview after stepping down from the stage: “That’s the first time I’ve been nose-to-nose with someone — it was interesting.”

Whyte said: “I was always going to come in as the heavier man because I’m the naturally bigger man.

“It was a short camp so we didn’t want to focus on draining,” the Englishman said.

“We just wanted to get the weight down to somewhere we could move and be effective and move as quick as I could.

“I am cool, calm and collected which he has taken for weakness,” Whyte said.

“I’ll show him that the Junkyard Dog is still here — he’s just behaving himself. Don’t take my kindness for weakness.”