Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker. Photo / Getty
Joseph Parker is the leanest he has been in two years as he digs in for the final week of his Las Vegas camp before flying to the United Kingdom to put the finishing touches on his preparation for his fight against Anthony Joshua in Cardiff.
Parker will arrive in London on Sunday for two weeks of acclimatisation and light training ahead of the world heavyweight title unification bout at the Principality Stadium on April 1, and is aiming to tip the scales at about 108kg.
He has weighed just over 111kg for his last three fights which have all gone the distance - Hughie Fury, Razvan Cojanu and Andy Ruiz Jr were his opponents dating back to December 2016 – and he and his camp hope the weight reduction will help with his speed and mobility against knockout artist Joshua.
"I'll be a lot leaner than my last few fights and I'll be lighter. I'll definitely show that when it comes to weigh-in time," Parker told Eyes on the Game interviewer Helen Yee in Las Vegas this week.
Trainer Kevin Barry confirmed Parker's condition, telling Yee: "We're looking at a certain weight for him, a weight we believe is optimum for mobility and speed and we're where we want to be.
"We need to see a very busy Joseph Parker… at the moment I can promise you we have a very fit Joseph Parker and we have a very hungry Joseph Parker."
One of the intriguing aspects of this fight is that Joshua will likely come in far lighter too. He tipped the scales at 115.2kg for his last fight against Carlos Takam in Cardiff in October last year – the heaviest of his professional career.
A fighter known for his heavily muscled shoulders and arms, he has embarked on an intense cardio programme in order to shed weight for his challenge against Parker, who promises to be one of the quickest and most durable opponents he has faced.
One short video clip released by Joshua at his Sheffield camp features the 28-year-old dressed in a dark jacket and shorts throwing quick combinations. He looks fast but also extremely lean, two points widely discussed on boxing forums ahead of what is the most highly anticipated heavyweight bout of the year.
Already called out by the Parker camp for his apparently vulnerable chin after being flattened, but recovering, against Wladimir Klitschko, many have questioned what Joshua's apparently dramatic weight loss will do to his ability to take a punch.
There have also be curious decisions made in terms of his sparring partners – including the inclusion of amateur Kiwi Patrick Mailata – but Parker at least appears genuinely content that everything is in place for a massive upset.
"It's been a great camp, actually a tremendous camp," he said.
"Everything's clicking, everything's progressing like we want. This is obviously the last week we have in camp before we fly out. We want to make the most of it and put in some good work and fly over and taper off.
"The programme that Kev has set up for this camp is a great camp. The body has responded well to it.
"The body enjoys the pain it's going through and we're seeing great results."
Barry said: "I'm very pleased that Joseph has progressed every single week. He's stayed healthy and injury free – everything I was hoping to achieve. Our confidence is high, I'm liking what Joe is showing me in the gym.
"Last week we sparred 10 rounds on Tuesday, 12 rounds on Thursday. Everything is right on point at the moment for Joe to have a career-best fight.
"This is a big fight to be involved in – the first [heavyweight] unification fight in eight years, and Joe is taking that very seriously.
"He's very aware of what this means to the people of New Zealand and the people of Samoa and his place in heavyweight boxing."
Whereas Joshua has hidden himself away in northern England, Parker has consistently made himself available for interviews in Las Vegas, but said the "outside noise" wasn't affecting him.
"This is a fight that's going to change our lives," Parker said. "It's a big task, a big challenge, but we're ready for it."