Parker: I’ll smash Joshua’s ‘glass chin’ to bits
Joseph Parker, the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight champion set to be announced as Anthony Joshua’s next opponent in a world-title unification fight, says the Briton has “a glass chin” which he promises to “smash to bits” when they meet in the ring.
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph as he prepared to board a flight to Britain, the unbeaten New Zealander said: “We know it. He knows it. Everybody knows it. They just don’t talk about it. Joshua has a glass chin.”
Parker was accompanied on the flight by Craig Stanaway, his PR adviser, who has helped to negotiate a deal to entice the unbeaten Joshua to put his World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation belts on the line. The contest is to be shown on Sky Sports Box Office in Britain, with ESPN and Showtime vying for the television rights in the United States, in an event expected to generate £35million.
The announcement of a March 31 world title unification fight, expected to be at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, should come in the next 72 hours, with Parker likely to sign contracts tomorrow. His promoter, David Higgins, has been in London for the past week finalising details with Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter.
Joshua, 28, with 20 fights and 20 knockouts, has defended his world title four times, including a dramatic 11thround knockout of former unified world champion Wladimir Klitschko last April after being knocked down in the sixth round.
Parker, with 24 victories and 18 knockouts, has defended his title twice.
The 26-year-old insisted yesterday: “If I get Joshua in the trouble Klitschko had him in, there is no chance for him. I’ll go in fast, I’ll go in hard, and I’ll go in for the kill. He won’t be able to recover against me.”
For a man not prone to trash-talking, Joseph Parker offered a rare message of intent yesterday as the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight champion said that his “sole mission is to smash to bits the man with the glass chin”.
The 17st, 6ft 4in Samoan was referring to Anthony Joshua, with contracts close to being finalised for the two world champions to contest three of the world titles in 10 or 11 weeks’ time, most likely in front of 80,000 fans in Cardiff.
Both fighters are undefeated, and the three belts – WBO, plus the Briton’s World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titles – are on the table, remarkably, for the first time in a heavyweight unification fight.
The New Zealander, speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph before boarding a flight from New Zealand to London via Vancouver, explained: “All we have said is that Joshua has a glass chin. We know it, he knows it, everybody knows it, they just don’t talk about it. We saw him get dropped by Wladimir Klitschko but he still had the heart to get up and finish the fight – I’ll give him that – but if I catch him and hurt him, I’m not going to give him the chance to recover.
“I won’t be letting him off the hook. If I get him in the trouble Klitschko had him in, there is no chance for him. I’ll go in fast, I’ll go in hard, and I’ll go in for the kill. He won’t be able to recover against me.”
In a calm, almost chilling voice, the 26-year-old said there was “no disrespect for Joshua”, but that his have “just delivered the facts in the last few weeks” and believe they have “got under Joshua’s skin”.
Parker’s promoters, Duco Events, put out a video last month saying that Joshua had been hurt and dropped in fights and in sparring, and that his chin was made of glass. It went viral.
Rival promoters Eddie Hearn and David Higgins have argued like banshees ever since, though in the last week they met in London to close the contracts and purse split, believed to be 67-33, for a contest estimated to be worth in the region of £35 million.
Parker, who is yet to sign his contract, believes Joshua has been indulged since winning a world title 20 months ago against Charles Martin, widely viewed as one of the worst heavyweight champions in history. It is, Parker suggests, a case of the emperor’s new clothes.
Unifying the belts will create a huge spectacle, sell out any stadium in the UK, and more importantly, should generate huge numbers on television pay-per-view.
“It’s a great feeling to finally be coming to the UK,” said Parker, undefeated in 24 contests, with 18 knockouts.
“I’m looking forward to locking it down and getting in training because Joshua is going to be a very hard, very tough fight. If we sign, I’ll head straight out to Las Vegas for training camp and if we don’t get it signed soon, I’ll head back to New Zealand.”
Parker believes his team’s strategy has paid off with Joshua. “I feel like the team has done a great job to get under his skin. The truth is that all the fights have been in his favour. He’s had everything his way. If my team had not come up with a plan, we wouldn’t be talking about this fight coming up.”
They took the tactic a step further this week when promoter Higgins said that Joshua was the type of fighter “to choke like the England football team”.
“There was no disrespect. We were just stating facts that he’s been dropped. It’s a fact that he has been dropped not once, but many times in sparring. But with all these facts that we have, we have always said that he is a good champion, a good fighter and that we respect him,” Parker said.
“We are just saying that these are his weaknesses and that’s all out there. There is proof of it in the fights he’s had and in the sparring he has had. His weaknesses are there for all to see.”
Parker laughed off the notion that Joshua could bully him, physically or mentally, in the build-up.
“He can try. Everyone has weaknesses but I just think that I’m not the kind of person to be intimidated by that kind of stuff. It’s not going to affect me. I know what I’m focused on. I know what I need to do, I know what my aim is and my end goals are and that’s what I’m going to put all my energy towards.
“His physical size is not going to scare me. Try as much as he likes, Joshua can’t scare me. The truth is that in this fight, the pressure is all on him. All I’m worried about is knocking him out.”
Parker starts the fight as the underdog, a status which he favours. Yet victory would be no upset in his eyes. “I do think it is my time, and I’ll come there confident in my ability. I genuinely believe I can knock him out. There is no expectation on me, no pressure.
“All I’m focused on is being in great shape, training hard and doing my best to knock him out and catch his glass jaw. This is my sole mission: to smash to bits the man with the glass chin. I really can’t wait for this fight.”
Nor can the British public. With any luck, the desire on both sides for the fight will bring an announcement in the next 48 hours. An impasse would be a major disappointment.