Parker missing on Joshua hit list

‘‘The game plan can only work if you have control of the fight and control of the other guy’s mind. I think Andy will be the one to win.’’

Sanchez conceded he would have liked more than the six-anda-half weeks he has had working with Ruiz ahead of his first appearance in the unbeaten fighter’s corner.

‘‘There are only certain things I can do to dramatically change him. I have to work with what he has got. Where are saddled with what it is – we are here fighting on Saturday night, we will do the best we can can for the time we’ve had. I still think it’s enough to beat Joseph Parker,’’ Sanchez said.

Sanchez said his main target in training had been to get Ruiz in the right condition and he felt that had been achieved. With that he sensed a lift in Ruiz’s mental game.

‘‘It’s up here,’’ he said, tapping his head, when asked about the improvement he had seen in Ruiz.

‘‘As you have seen since he’s been here, he is in a great mood, he is walking tall, he feels good. It’s been about getting him in the best mental shape to put up with thousands of people screaming at him.’’

Sanchez said Ruiz possessed good skills and his task in that area had only been to sharpen them.

He played down the dramatic weight loss Ruiz has undergone, shedding more than 13kg, saying it had been a gradual and controlled process.

‘‘That wasn’t because of diet. We didn’t run a fat farm. We ran a gym that required him to lose a little weight each day through hard work and training.’’

Sanchez is adamant the weight loss will improve Ruiz’s performance rather than threaten it.

‘‘There are different ways to lose weight but understand that when you are 290lbs [131kg] you are slow, your punches are slow. When you lose 30-35lb (13-16kg) your punches are snappy, you’re faster on your feet and you aren’t getting as tired.

‘‘You definitely don’t lose power, you become a sharper puncher and sometimes a sharper puncher is better than a thumping heavy-handed guy.’’

Asked if Ruiz could handle Parker’s noted left jab, Sanchez produced the perfect counterpunch, saying: ‘‘I’m wondering if Joseph can stay out of the way of Andy’s right hand.’’ Anthony Joshua has unveiled his hit list for 2017 and, at this stage, Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker does not feature in the British star’s plans.

Parker (21-0) and Joshua (17-0) are two of the most exciting boxers in the division and have long been seen to be on a collision course.

Parker is the mandatory challenger to Joshua’s IBF title and the pair had been in talks to square off in the UK this weekend only for Joshua’s manager Eddie Hearn to stall negotiations as he attempted to set-up a more lucrative bout against former champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Not prepared to be left in the lurch, Parker’s promoters, Duco Events, went in a different direction and it paid off with the 24-year-old fighting Andy Ruiz for the vacant WBO strap in Auckland on Saturday while Joshua’s date with Klitschko fell through.

The 2012 Olympic gold medallist instead takes on AmericanMexican Eric Molina in Manchester on Sunday (NZ time). However, Joshua already has an eye on the next 12 months where he hopes to fight Klitschko, fellow Brit David Haye and WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

‘‘In 2017 I will announce myself on the big stage,’’ Joshua told the Daily Mail.

The Klitschko fight has been pencilled in for Wembley Stadium or Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on April 29, and Joshua added: ‘‘Wladimir has been a truly great champion. But I have sparred with him and since then I have improved a lot while he is getting older.

‘‘I had better fight him sooner rather than later. Before he retires.’’

Former WBA champion Haye was meant to fight the winner of Parker-Ruiz but he has since opted to continue his comeback against countryman Tony Bellew in March.

Haye has regularly called out Joshua and while the latter doesn’t believe ‘The Hayemaker’ is on his level, he knows the bout has boxoffice appeal in England.

‘‘David keeps saying what he’s going to do to me and how I will avoid him,’’ Joshua said.

‘‘Well, if he can get through his March fight with Tony Bellew I will be fine about fighting him.

‘‘He’s a good boxer and he’s turning ours into a fight the people want. Sometimes that’s how it works and I’m OK with that.’’

Joshua is determined to unify the division which leads him to Wilder, who is recovering from a broken hand. ‘‘I’ll be ready and waiting,’’ he added.

Should Parker win on Saturday, though, that road will have to include a date with the New Zealander at some point, provided Joshua survives what is shaping to be a big year.