‘He’s very missed’: Joseph Parker remembers first professional boxing trainer Chris Martin

(From left): Kevin Barry, Joseph Parker, Brian Minto and Chris Martin pose for the media during a press conference at City Boxing on July 2, 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo / Jason Oxenham / Getty Images

When Joseph Parker steps into the ring in the dunes of Saudi Arabia for his heavyweight boxing bout against Canadian Simon Kean on Sunday morning (NZT), there’ll be a vacant space in his corner.

Between his impressive win over Faiga “Django” Opelu in Melbourne in May and his upcoming brawl in Riyadh, Parker lost his former trainer Chris Martin, who died of a heart attack in August at the age of 59.

“When I got the news, it was a shock, because Chris lived a clean life and all he did was focus on boxing and training and his family – he’s very missed,” Parker said ahead of his fight.

A piece of Team Parker will be missing as the former WBO champion fights on the undercard of the Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou crossover event, but it’s a piece that’s close to the 31-year-old’s heart.

Before Andy Lee and Kevin Barry, it was Martin who worked with the upstart at the dawn of his professional tenure in 2012, at the suggestion of former manager Sir Bob Jones.

“Chris was one of those coaches who didn’t complicate things and liked to keep it simple. When you perfect the simple things in boxing, everything else flows from it, so he taught the basics well, and the passion that he had for coaching and for helping fighters was extremely high.”

Despite their partnership being short-lived, Parker and Martin remained in touch throughout the heavyweight boxer’s career.

“Every time I came back to New Zealand, I would always link up with Chris and do some work,” Parker recalls.

“There were years where we didn’t really work together, but we always had the connection, where I’d call him up and say, ‘Hey, coach, can I have a session?’, and he always made time.”

Even in his most recent fight in Melbourne against Opelu, when current coach Lee was occupied on the other side of the world, Parker knew who to put the SOS call out to in order to keep him in peak condition.

“That last time was probably one of the best experiences where me, George [Lockhart – Parker’s nutritionist/strength and conditioning coach] and Chris spent two weeks together leading into the fight before Andy got there.

“It was a great time as brothers, and then when we got back to New Zealand after the fight, we still linked up. We caught each other at boxing events, we went to league games, rugby games, whatever was on.”

Martin was a close family friend, even attending a fight night featuring one of Parker’s cousins – the last time the two would see each other in person.

But Parker harks back to one of his lasting memories of the revered trainer.

“He came to the Du Val gym in Manukau when George and I were training and caught a few sessions with us and did a bit of weights.

“He was really interested in what George was teaching me. Even at that stage before he passed away, he was still a student of the game, learning and changing things and trying new things with the fighters that he was looking after.”

(From left): Kevin Barry, Joseph Parker, Brian Minto and Chris Martin pose for the media during a press conference at City Boxing. Photo / Getty Images

That was Martin’s stamp of approval for the new direction Parker was heading in under Lockhart - a collaboration that only spawned ahead of the Django fight.

The fond recollection of his first professional trainer has kept Parker motivated ahead of the upcoming fight on Sunday.

It’ll be his third fight of the year – he hasn’t seen such activity since 2021.

Parker’s unsure what to anticipate when he takes to the Saudi Arabian conditions. His only boxing-related experience in the region was watching the Tommy Fury v Jake Paul fight back in February.

“They fought outdoors, but it was under one of those covers. I’m not quite sure what the weather’s going to be like, but we’re prepared for whatever the weather is, whether it’s cold, warm or hot.”

His partnership with Lockhart – a former Marine-turned-top nutritionist – has paid dividends, and according to Parker, is growing stronger by the day.

“I think it’s going fantastic. I had six weeks with George leading into the Django fight, and that was purely nutrition and food and a little bit of introducing his knowledge of strength and conditioning.

“After the fight, George didn’t really have any plans with any other fighters, so he made time to come to New Zealand for 10 weeks. He took control of my conditioning and my strength work and food.

“It’s been an enjoyable process where I’m learning, and we can see positive changes in my body and in my speed and movement.”'

Joseph Parker (left) and Tyson Fury. Photo / Photosport

Another 10 weeks together in Morecambe Bay, a place that Parker considers his third home behind Samoa and New Zealand, has the former champion primed and ready to showcase his growth under the bright lights.

“There are some changes, because with the strength and training that George has introduced, it’s a lot different from what I was used to doing before, so longer runs, different types of weights.

“I think this camp has been one of those where we’re testing and trialling, but everything has been on point.”

Morecambe Bay is also home to Parker’s close friend Tyson Fury, who will headline the Riyadh fight night against former UFC heavyweight titleholder Ngannou.

The Samoan-Kiwi says Fury is taking the fight just as seriously as his other encounters. He’ll need to – with a long-awaited undisputed title fight against Oleksandr Usyk confirmed for December.

For Parker, his journey back to the top of the heavyweight division goes through Simon Kean.

But as the 31-year-old assumes the driver’s seat again in his professional career, he acknowledges it won’t be the same without the man who helped turn the ignition on in the first place.

“When I go back to New Zealand, it’s going to be different not messaging Chris, and not catching up for training sessions and going to different gyms and boxing in pads and bag work together.

“I know there’s a lot of people out there who miss his company, especially his family, close friends and everyone else [for whom] he played a part in their lives.”