Boxing: Parker gets visa for fight

New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker could smile this afternoon after getting his passport back from the United States embassy. Photo / Sarah Ivey.

New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker could smile this afternoon after getting his passport back from the United States embassy, but concern was mounting ahead of his fight against American Keith Thompson in Pennsylvania a week on Sunday.

Parker needed a work visa to fly back into the States, a global backlog stemming from a US immigration computer problem meaning his preparation at his Las Vegas training base has been severely curtailed.

"I was actually quite concerned," he said. "If the visa hadn't have come by the end of the week I probably would have cancelled the fight.

"As soon as we touch down we train, next day we'll probably do two sessions and Saturday we'll spar and shake off the cobwebs and Sunday we'll fly out and sharpen up again."