Barry: Joe’s record better than AJ’s

Kevin Barry claims Joseph Parker has a better record than Anthony Joshua.

Both are unbeaten, with WBO champion Parker (24-0) taking on IBF and WBA champion Joshua (20-0) in Cardiff next Sunday (NZT).

A week out from the massive unification fight, Parker’s camp maintains its aggressive stance.

‘‘Joe’s record is better, just look at the list of opponents that both guys have fought,’’ veteran trainer Barry told media in London where Parker has spent the past week tapering his training.

‘‘There are two names on Joshua’s resume which stand out. One is the great Klitschko, who he fought at the age of 41. The other is Carlos Takam, who he fought on 12 days’ notice.

‘‘You then look at Joseph Parker’s [resume]. When Joe was 10-0, we were fighting guys who were world ranked.

‘‘When he was 12-0, we fought Irineu Beato, who was 12 in the world. You look at Andy Ruiz who was 29-0 when we fought him for the [WBO] title. You look at Hughie Fury, who nobody wants to fight. You look at Alexander Dimitrenko – Joe blew him out in three rounds. You look at Takam, who had three months’ notice before coming to New Zealand to fight the mandatory.’’

Klitchko’s age wasn’t the only consideration. The former longstanding champion hadn’t fought for 18 months, and was coming off a loss after being upset by Tyson Fury, a result that ripped the division open.

Barry continued to question the hype about Joshua, the 2012 Olympic gold medallist who has knocked out all 20 of his opponents since turning professional.

‘‘British boxing fans really got ahead of themselves with Joshua’s win over Klitschko,’’ Barry said.

That hype will see another huge crowd with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium set to have up to 80,000 fans packed in for the fight.

Barry’s view isn’t totally oneeyed. Last week leading British boxing pundit Steve Bunce told the BBC he felt that in terms of allround boxing skills, Parker was the better equipped.

Bunce noted Parker had a much longer amateur background and almost double the professional rounds (125 to 63), including going the distance in his last three big fights.

Bunce said that experience shouldn’t be ignored, though he maintained Joshua was still his favourite to win.