Joseph Parker's needling of Anthony Joshua appears to be hitting its mark, with the English world heavyweight champion referring to his struggles keeping a lid on a "pot of fire".
Both Parker and his trainer Kevin Barry have spoken about how easy it seems to rattle Joshua ahead of theirlikely fight in late March.
The 28-year-old IBF and WBA "super" champion is used to having things go his way but Parker and his team have taken a defiant attitude to their negotiations and social media approach, in particular their shining a spotlight on what they describe as Joshua's "glass jaw".
"Life is about how you interpret things and when I first started boxing, my interpretation [of boxing] was all about Mike Tyson and the gutter side of it," Joshua said in an interview after he attended the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year awards in Liverpool.
"Then I started realising the discipline and regimen of the likes of [Wladimir] Klitschko and how they conduct themselves. So I tried to change the angle.
"But you need that 'gutterness' as well, which I show in the fight, but outside of that, it's calmness and respect.
Anthony Joshua. Photo / AP
"It's tough sometimes though if someone keeps on poking you, how do you keep a lid on that pot of fire?"
An official announcement of the fight is close, with Parker understood to be happy to be receiving a purse of $12million.
In an interview with Joshua and Hearn after the awards, the pair mention WBO champion Parker and WBC title holder Deontay Wilder as their main targets for next year.
