Parker vs Fury — What you need to know

All you need to know from the big fight between Joseph Parker and Hughie Fury on Sunday

What: WBO world heavyweight title fight.

Who: Joseph Parker ( NZ) vs Hughie Fury ( Eng) Where: Manchester Arena. When: From 8am on Sunday ( NZT). Why: Hughie Fury is the mandatory challenger after David Haye elected to fight Tony Bellew instead. He thought it would be an easier and more lucrative fight ( fellow Englishman Bellew is really a cruiserweight), but instead Haye ruptured his Achilles and fought the latter part of the bout effectively on one leg until the fight was mercifully stopped. Fury, far lesser known than his cousin, former world champion Tyson, was the next cab off the rank. He was originally scheduled to fight Parker in Auckland in May but pulled out with a back injury.

How: Parker v Fury is being shown on YouTube ( pay per view) in the United Kingdom and Ireland ( it’s on Sky Arena in NZ), and the YouTube experiment is most likely the way such fights will go in future. It’s a bit of a risk at this stage, though.

Who will win: Parker will be favourite — he has fought by far the better opponents and has a far better knockout record, with 18 knockouts in 23 professional fights. Fury has won 10 of his 20 professional fights by knockout. A win here will set the Kiwi up for bigger fights in the UK, or possibly the United States, where WBC champion Deontay Wilder awaits. In Britain, Anthony Joshua is by far the biggest heavyweight star.

Why should I care: Parker is under pressure to put in a statement performance and announce himself here in England after two lacklustre peformances, which have, admittedly, resulted in victories. Who knows how good Fury really is? He last fought in April

last year and by all accounts was lucky the fight was stopped due to a head cut when he was ahead on points. What are Parker’s big rivals

doing: Joshua is preparing for the defence of his IBF and WBA titles against Kubrat Pulev in Cardiff on October 28. After Joshua’s big win over Wladimir Klitschko in April, it would be a surprise to see Pulev prevail here. WBC champion Wilder will fight Luis “King Kong” Ortiz in Brooklyn on November 4. That has the makings of an interesting bout. Ortiz, a Cuban, is a monster southpaw.