Crowd noise warning to boxer

ANTHONY Joshua has warned his opponent Joseph Parker that the noise levels at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium will affect his psyche and emotions on Saturday night, when 80 000 fans roar as the two huge fighters meet in the first heavyweight unification contest to be held on British soil.

Parker, Joshua insisted, will never have experienced anything like it. “It does affect you, it’s crazy,” Joshua said. The World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion believes his familiarity with the ambience will allow him to exact his game plan “like an assassin, a sniper, to break his spirit and mentality”.

“A certain amount of noise can smash glass based on the frequency. That sort of noise, the booming, gets to you in a fight and in the dressing room,” the 28-year-old, who has 20 knockouts from 20 bouts, said.

“You can become desperate. But, honestly, in terms of my 20 fights, I always step into the ring and I feel comfortable.

“The Carlos Takam fight [at the Principality Stadium in October] was the first time I felt: ‘Cool, I want this atmosphere’.

“I tried to block the noise out before, but that was a big mistake.

“You use too much emotional energy trying to block it out, you just have to embrace it because it’s overpowering.

“There are certain situations you feel comfortable in and certain situations you can handle.

“But you see some people who aren’t comfortable in certain situations.

“They’re fidgety, they’re not who they really are, and that’s what happens sometimes when you’re in an arena you haven’t been in before in front of so many people. “It can force you to act out of character.” Parker’s team have insisted the 26-year-old from New Zealand is ice cool, with trainer Kevin Barry saying: “The big thing in this fight, as it is in all sport, is how you can act and control your emotions.

“Joe has always been ice cool. With preparation comes confidence and, if you prepare properly, there’s no reason to doubt yourself or be anxious. “We have never prepared better than this.” The contest, though, is no foregone conclusion. Joshua, potentially two fights away from being the first man to hold all four heavyweight belts, sees Parker as a talented opponent deserving of his crack at a unification fight.

“His trainer is experienced, he was a fighter himself and he has trained championship fighters,” he said.

“I’m dealing with a guy who has his country behind him, that obviously gives him a little bit of fuel as well.” – The Telegraph