New Zealand's heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker during a training session. Photo / AP Photo
New Zealand's heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker during a training session. Photo / AP Photo
The public today came in their many hundreds to the open workout in Cardiff held in a theatre - kids and people of all ages, including, it was rumoured, one or two Wales international rugby players, for the fight which will stop several nations on Sunday.
They came to seeboxing superstar Anthony Joshua, of course, but the welcome for Joseph Parker was loud and long and the New Zealander was nearly mobbed at the end when he stepped from the ring and signed autographs for children in the seats on the other side of the barrier.
He really has become very well liked here in the United Kingdom for the way he has conducted himself in public; self-assured but humble and extremely accessible. There are many British boxing fans who hope he does well at the Principality Stadium and after this there might be a few more.
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One man shouted: "Do it for Lomu!", a reference to the late former All Black Jonah Lomu, who played a couple of seasons of club rugby for Cardiff Blues at the end of his career.
Joshua got a very loud reception once Parker was gone, but the place was emptier by the time he entered the ring – due mainly to the fact that Parker's growing entourage of friends and family from New Zealand and Samoa had left.
Again, Parker didn't put a foot wrong apart from walking into a trap set by Sky's reporter Craig Slater in the middle of the ring afterwards when the Kiwi was asked: "You're dressed all in black, Joseph, will it be an All Black-type performance?"
"The All Blacks always do great here in Wales so I'm looking forward to keeping that record clean," Parker replied, laughing when the Welsh crowd gave him the only raspberry of the night.
"My team has got under Joshua's skin, he looks angry and tense. Everyone is different in how they approach a fight, we are relaxed and calm. It's a relaxed excitement."
Asked if he had a final message for the man known as AJ, Parker said to loud cheers: "See you soon - let's go to war!"
Afterwards in the dressing room, Parker was still buzzing, the sweat dripping from his face as he put on a dry T-shirt and, in another fashion statement from the 26-year-old, a parka with a faux-fur-lined hood. Asked to put the hood up, he did, willingly, giving a little dance for good measure.
"We had some great support," he said as his family watched and his friends sang and laughed. "I think a lot of people from Wales are cheering for us, so I love Wales."
New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker during a public workout in Cardiff. Photo / AP
Asked whether the reception was a surprise, he said: "It is surprising, but I think we have a good connection with the Welsh. They've played our team a lot and they've got a lot of respect for our country and our athletes. It's good to get the support from them for a boxer too.
"I wasn't really giving away much [in the ring] but it's good to see everyone gathered here for the size of the event – just for a workout. It's very humbling. We had a good crowd ourselves, we had our family and friends from New Zealand and Samoa on one side so it was good to see them."
Parker was watched by three of Joshua's black-dressed crew as he skipped and shadow boxed with trainer Kevin Barry in the ring. Later, Joshua entered. The tall Brit, with the words "Angel" and "Joseph" typed discretely in white on his boots, the latter the name of his young son, looked relaxed and calm.
"I hope Joseph Parker walks into my booby traps because I'm going to set him up for my power shots as well," Joshua said. "Yeah it will be a war, a bit of blood, sweat, and hopefully cheers from my corner."
