As the boxing world counts down to an official announcement of Joseph Parker's mega-fight against Anthony Joshua, fellow heavyweight Tony Bellew has once again given his prediction of the result.
"Anthony Joshua will 'eat' Joseph Parker," Bellew told Fight Hype. "A very good big guy will always beat a goodlittle guy."
Bellew's strong opinion is no surprise as he's a stablemate of Joshua's and has said often that he wouldn't get in the ring with his fellow Englishman, the IBF and WBA "super" world heavyweight champion.
Bellew, a cruiserweight world champion and far smaller than Joshua (and about 10kg lighter than Parker), has also previously written in a column about his displeasure at WBO champion Parker's hard line on negotiations on the fight which is expected to be held in Cardiff on March 31.
Some of that could be put down to professional jealousy – Bellew himself wanted a fight with Parker but has had to take a back seat as the New Zealander aimed at one of the biggest names in world boxing.
"A fight with Joshua is probably five times more than Parker has ever earned," Bellew wrote last month. "He's not entitled to that. The best fight on his record is Carlos Takam and that was a narrow victory. Joshua won every single round against Takam in Cardiff.
"Parker's team are dining out on this WBO title and they should be very, very careful what they wish for."
Instead of settling early in the negotiations, Parker and his promoter David Higgins have pushed their counterparts Joshua and Eddie Hearn all the way and the Herald understands the parties have agreed to a $12million payday.
Should Parker, 25, be successful against Joshua a fight with Bellew is still a big possibility and in the meantime the Liverpudlian is preparing for his re-match with David Haye in London on May 5. The original fight date was today, but had to be postponed due to Haye's biceps injury.
All eyes will be on Bellew's home town overnight where the United Kingdom's Sports Personality of the Year awards will be held – Joshua is favourite to win the top award and there is speculation he will make an announcement there about his fight with Parker.
A Duco Events spokesman said Higgins hadn't booked a flight, but the Herald understands he will soon fly to the UK to announce the fight alongside Hearn.
Joshua made headlines around the world with his title defence against former champion Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in April, an epic fight in which both men hit the canvas.
The 29-year-old Joshua, who has attracted massive support in the UK for his style and power, stopped Takam in Cardiff last month.
Andy Ruiz Jr, whom Parker beat in Auckland for the vacant WBO title, also believes the advantage is with Joshua, but the Parker camp are sure Joshua has flaws, including what they describe as a "glass jaw".
