Parker unleashes on ‘scared’ Fury
A fired-up Joseph Parker has accused the Hughie Fury camp of being scared, lacking respect and ‘‘using every trick in the book’’ to upset the rhythm of their WBO world heavyweight title fight preparations.
Parker takes on Britain’s Fury in Auckland on May 6, the culmination of a long and frustrating process to organise his first defence.
Originally set for early April it was delayed a month and Parker revealed that talks over the past fortnight, as revealed by Fairfax, were centred around another possible postponement, even taking the fight to Britain.
It’s understood Parker stepped in himself and demanded the fight go ahead. As champion, he feels his camp should be dictating terms and he’s had enough of waiting. ‘‘There were discussions about changing the date, changing the venue, changing the country,’’ Parker said.
‘‘But we’ve already changed the fight once before and extended our training camp. All these things, they just play into their hands. I want to get into the ring, I want to do my thing. Whatever the outcome so be it, but it’s time ... it’s time to get it on. I just want to get the job done. I’ve been training very hard so I’m ready to get in the ring and let my hands go.’’
Parker was bemused by the attitude from the Furys.
‘‘They aren’t really cooperating. They are slowing the whole process down. Maybe they are scared, maybe they are scared to come down to New Zealand and maybe they didn’t want to take this fight, I’m not sure. Maybe if I say they are scared, maybe they will come down.’’
Parker said the fight would be held as planned. The Furys are expected in New Zealand in the next day or so, though they have left their arrival late, well beyond the month they had earlier indicated they wanted to spend here preparing and acclimatising.
‘‘We’ve earned being the champion and I guess they have to show respect for that. But at the moment, it seems like they are playing us around, and fooling around, so we are trying to gauge where they are at,’’ Parker said.
‘‘In boxing there are lot of things that happen where they try to slow down the process and try to get to the other team, trying to get into our heads. They are trying every trick in the book to try to upset us.
‘‘But what they don’t understand is I’m more focussed than ever. Physically and mentally, we have been doing a lot of work on both sides of that. Whatever games they play, we can just laugh at it and carry on.’’
The Furys risk turning Parker’s frustration into anger. That’s another dimension for a fighter whose calm demeanour is a trademark.
There’s a huge amount at stake for Parker. This is likely to be his last New Zealand fight if he wins. Bigger things beckon offshore like unification bouts and he knows he needs to stamp his claims on MARK ROBINSON the massive British market by beating up Fury.
‘‘I’m going in there to make a statement,’’ vowed Parker.
‘‘I’ve trained the house down. I was training for April 1 and now I’ve trained for May 6 ... so I’m going in there and giving it everything I have. I’m sure I’ll make a statement with the energy I put into this fight. I think I can push the pressure (on Fury), I back myself to catch him and box him and beat him or knock him out.’’
The upside to the delays for Parker has been the ability to get a sustained break. He has been arguably the busiest of the elite heavyweights in the last three years as he worked towards claiming one of the four coveted belts. It’s nearly five months since he beat Mexico’s Andy Ruiz to win the WBO title. That represents his longest break from the ring since late 2013.
It has left Parker hungry to deal out some justice to Fury, a 22-year-old who has somehow gained the mandatory challenge despite being inactive for a year and having doping allegations hanging over him. ‘‘I’ve been away for so long and I’ve been working so hard, getting in the ring will be an enjoyment, it will be like a reward.’’
‘ Maybe they are scared to come down to New Zealand and maybe they didn’t want to take this fight. ’ JOSEPH PARKER