No fears for Joe mighty
DEFENDING champion Anthony Joshua looked into the eyes of Joseph Parker and realised this was a man who had absolutely no fear of stepping into a ring with him.
That’s according to Parker’s trainer, Kevin Barry, who is confident his fellow Kiwi will be a four-belt world title-holder by this time next week.
Barry said: “I was a little surprised when they sat around the table for ‘The Gloves Are Off’.
“Joe had just come back from vacation, he was fat in the face and a totally different guy from the one today.
“But you look in a guy’s eyes and you can find out a lot about him, and Joshua looked at Joseph Parker and thought: ‘This guy ain’t afraid of me’. The fact is Joe isn’t afraid of him, there’s no fear at all.
“When I look in Joseph’s eyes there’s no hint of nerves, no hint of: ‘Oh my God, I have to fight Anthony Joshua’. He’s very relaxed, calm, at peace with himself. He knows we have done everything we can do and we feel confident coming into this fight.
“I sat Joe down at the start of this training camp and said: ‘Mate, you do everything right in this camp, with your elbows in the best shape they have been in for a long time, then we’re not going to have to deal with injury and pain. You work hard and stay disciplined and the rest of it will be in the hands of the gods’.
“It’s as simple as this. If we don’t beat Joshua it’s because he’s a better fighter, there’s no other reason, and we don’t think he is.
“We have looked at Joshua for a long time and I have always believed in the skill of Joseph Parker, the hand-speed, the movement.
“I’ve always thought I had the best heavyweight and we’ll find out on Saturday.
“They’re both going to bash each other and test each other’s chins.”