Parker ready to smash an Englishman
Joseph Parker has vowed to silence his doubters in the UK when he makes his long-awaited British debut against Hughie Fury later this year.
New Zealand’s WBO heavyweight champion was heavily criticised in England following a lacklustre victory over Romanian giant Razvan Cojanu in May, a fight that was hurriedly put together after Fury withdraw due to a back injury on less than two weeks notice.
That clash between has now been rescheduled with the two undefeated boxers to square off in Fury’s hometown of Manchester on September 23.
Home of IBF, WBA and IBO champion Anthony Joshua, former undisputed champion, and Hughie’s cousin, Tyson Fury, and several other high-profile heavyweights, Britain is undoubtedly the centre of the division and it’s crucial for Parker to make a statement in order secure bigger fights in the future.
For his part, the 25-year-old Kiwi insisted he was not feeling the pressure to perform but that doesn’t mean he isn’t planning on putting on a show.
‘‘The positive thing from the last fight was to get a win. It’s hard to fight someone who comes in defensive and doesn’t throw a lot of punches,’’ Parker said yesterday as he flew out to England with promoter David Higgins for a promotional tour.
‘‘There’s no pressure in putting on a great performance, I’ll just go there and do it. I just need to train hard, stay focused and I’ll be ready to smash an Englishman.
‘‘I know there’s a lot of doubters out there but I’ll use my fists to do the talking. I have to knock him out to make a statement and that’s what I’m going to do.’’
While Higgins did not hold back against the Fury camp at the time of his withdrawal, last week the Duco Events director said he had ‘‘buried the hatchet’’ with Peter Fury, Hughie’s father and head trainer, and Parker too has moved on.
With Fury the mandatory challenger, they didn’t have much choice but Higgins said they were able to come to an agreement that was mutually beneficial.
Duco won the rights to stage the initial bout via a purse bid after the Fury’s refused to agree to a host of conditions, including money, neutral judges and ring size. However, with the relationship restored, he said they were much more accommodating to their demands on this occasion.
Following the UK trip, Parker heads to Las Vegas to begin a 10-week training camp with trainer Kevin Barry.