Ready to rumble

Stablemate warns Parker he cannot afford to take giant Romanian lightly

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Joseph Parker’s friend and stablemate Izu Ugonoh has issued a warning to the New Zealander ahead of his world heavyweight title defence against Razvan Cojanu — one mistake could be costly.

Heavyweight Ugonoh knows well the importance of not making errors at the top level. One of his — overcommitting in his last fight against Dominic Breazeale in February — resulted in his first defeat as a professional and, to make matters worse, it was a bout he was winning.

So, in an interview with the Herald from his native Poland, Ugonoh was serious when said of Cojanu, with whom he has sparred and whom Parker will fight at Manukau on Saturday: “He’s a threat if you don’t do the right things. I believe it’s very important to know that.

“I respect Razvan. He’s had over 300 amateur fights, so he brings that experience into the ring. He’s got a good professional record — 16 wins and two losses — and at the end of the day, he’s a hungry lion.

“Looking at this situation, which is a world title fight, you’ve got a guy who has been waiting for this opportunity. Definitely this is not someone to be underestimated.

“Joseph has been preparing to fight someone else [ Hughie Fury] and it’s all about focus. Now he has to change his focus to fighting someone else and with all the amazing things that are happening in the heavyweight division right now, I just hope he keeps his focus on Cojanu.”

Parker is adamant that the 30-yearold Romanian is the only opponent in his thoughts despite the lucrative opportunities in the heavyweight division and the potential to unify the titles in fights against Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder.

The only times that the 25-year-old has failed to live up to his potential in the ring have generally come through disrupted training camps, and by all accounts, his recent 12-week camp has been a successful one. He is fit, both physically and mentally, and keen to prove a point or two against Cojanu following the late withdrawal of Fury.

Ugonoh added: “I know Joseph is strong mentally, and I expect him to be strong mentally — he’s the WBO heavyweight champion of the world . . . if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be where he is right now.

“But it’s easy to overlook an opponent, especially when people expect you to beat someone and . . . when you might be looking into the future with big fights with Joshua or Wilder.

“It’s one step at a time. You can’t make a mistake because that might cost you.”