Complacent Joshua is in for a shock, says Parker
JOSEPH PARKER will refrain from treating the 80,000 crowd in Cardiff ’ s Principality Stadium to the Haka but he does intend to make New Zealand proud by knocking out Anthony Joshua a week today.
There was talk of All Blacks rugby domination as the WBO world heavyweight champion leaned on his surgically repaired elbows in London. Parker also took England’s Test cricket struggles back home as a positive sign in his bid to unseat Britain’s WBA, IBF and IBO champion in their unification battle.
The Kiwi of Samoan origin warned Joshua: ‘This looks like our time. No Haka but I am here to honour my heritage and myself by upsetting Anthony. I’ve played through the scenario of knocking him out.’
Parker suspects Joshua is making the mistake of looking past him by talking of a next fight against Deontay Wilder and perhaps of entering fanciful $500million (£353m) negotiations with the UFC.
‘He should be focusing on me,’ says Parker, who also advises AJ to forget about Parker’s own lacklustre winning performance against Hughie Fury last year. Many are alarmed to learn of the operations on both his elbows in December, but Parker insists: ‘ The surgery has been a success. I am punching once more with the power which brought me all those knockouts.
‘I respect all that Anthony has achieved, but he and the bookies are underestimating me. They are all about to see the full Joseph Parker.’ Full but lighter.
Parker, lampooned by Joshua as ‘The Pieman’, responds: ‘ The ops have let me come in leaner, lighter, faster, stronger to bash him.’ He expects to weigh in on Friday at 17st 12lb, a stone less than for Fury.
Joshua is keeping his weight close to that muscular chest but he is expected to be lighter than his career high 18st 12lb when he beat Carlos Takam in October.
Parker says: ‘He knows how fast I am and he’s trying to get quicker. He doesn’t know whether he’s being himself or trying to become me.’
A video of Joshua’s epic fight with Wladimir Klitschko forms the backdrop to training in Parker’s gym.
He says: ‘ I see Anthony being knocked down by a 41-year-old. We also see a lot about him which I can exploit.’
If he happens to be right, he will pull off one of the major shocks in heavyweight history.