Barry puts the acid on Parker to perform
Trainer Kevin Barry believes Hughie Fury and the pressure of fighting in Britain will bring out the best in his WBO world heavyweight champion, Joseph Parker.
Barry and Parker are back in camp preparing for the September 23 title defence against Fury in Manchester.
It will be Parker’s debut in the United Kingdom which has now supplanted the United States as the hotbed of the heavyweight scene.
Parker is eager to make an impact, knowing an impressive win over Fury will be a huge step towards bigger fights and bigger money.
‘‘We are really excited about having our first fight in the UK. We have been trying to get there for the last 18 months. We need to explode on the scene in the UK,’’ Barry told Boxing Scene.
‘‘I think Hughie Fury is the sort of opponent who will bring the best out of Joe. We need a challenge. He is undefeated, I don’t believe he is as battle ready as Joseph Parker but he is a young guy who is getting better every time he gets in the ring. He is well coached and has a great team around him.’’
Barry concedes there are obvious risks with taking the title on the road, especially into Fury’s home base. But it’s the right time to take up that challenge
‘‘There are pros and cons for this. Obviously it is great for us to get the opportunity to get over to the UK and for Joe to display his skills in front of the audience we want to be in front of. The fact that we are going to be in Manchester, in Hughie’s backyard, that will pose a few challenges for us. The crowd and supporters there have a great reputation of being pretty ruthless so that brings its own challenges.’’
Parker is expecting to have to dictate the fight against Fury who has an awkward style.
This is the second camp where Parker has given full attention to Fury. They were set to fight earlier in the year in Auckland, only for Fury to pull out with a back injury and be replaced at the last minute by big Romanian Razvan Cojanu whom Parker laboured to a points win against.
Barry said they had reevaluated Fury and made adjustments for this second camp.
They had watched Fury fight an exhibition in London last month.
It was Fury’s first time in a ring since beating American Frank Kassi for the vacant WBO intercontinental title in April last year.