Joseph Parker - 'I'll be trying to knock Fury out'

Joseph Parker during a training session in London ahead of his WBO heavyweight boxing title defence. Photosport

New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker's resolve to knock out Hughie Fury is growing by the day.

It is being fueled by the talk coming from his opponent's camp and the way this WBO world title fight in Manchester a week on Sunday is being promoted. "At the moment you wouldn't know the fight is on," Parker told the Herald this morning.

Parker, who expects to weigh-in at about 110kg, has been enjoying the sights and history of London following his arrival from his Las Vegas base at the weekend but his frustration is clear also.

The build-up to the fight at Manchester Arena has been so low-key as to be almost farcical. Even before Fury refused to travel to New Zealand for his first scheduled challenge in May - claiming a back injury - the negotiations between the camps have been drawn out and difficult. Another unorthodox approach has been the decision to broadcast the fight on YouTube.

That shambolic approach been reflected in the lacklustre promotion from Fury's backers - much of which appears based around Fury firing cheap shots at Parker and his team on social media. In one of his recent posts on twitter, the 22-year-old Fury accused the Kiwi world champion of being ungrateful.

"More money for this fight than your whole career put together. Show some respect #Chump," Fury wrote.

Strictly speaking, it is Fury, who has remained mandatory challenger through the benevolence of the WBO despite pulling out of his first scheduled fight, with the opportunity of a lifetime.

The Englishman, who will earn well over $1million from the bout, has never been in the ring with a fighter of Parker's quality, something which Parker himself acknowledged.
Parker put the social media swipes down to a lack of confidence. The pair were friendly in Manchester last month on a promotional tour, but the tone is likely to be very different next week when they face each other again.

"Maybe that is due to a lack of confidence," Parker said. "I get my confidence from training and preparing well. Some people get theirs from talking. I know I have what it takes to win. I've done it before many times. He has never been in the ring with someone like me.

"I don't think he backs his power. He will try to hit and move and be awkward and I will be trying to knock him out - no question."

But while Parker has taken a philosophical attitude towards the outbursts, he agreed "there will be an extra edge" when the pair face off in the ring, with the Kiwi making what for him is a relatively rare statement of wanting to knock Fury out.

"I am disappointed with the promotional side of things," Parker added. "One of my goals when agreeing to fight in the UK was to raise my profile here and I'm not sure that will be the case - no matter my performance. If you look at the way Duco promote my fights at home - there's no comparison."

Parker's heavyweight rival and mate David Haye, meanwhile, has suggested that an all-out assault from the opening bell might not be the best option.

Haye, at whose London gym Parker is training, said: "Hughie Fury's got a very awkward style, a very under-rated defence, and it could sort of pose Joe a few tricks early-doors until he gets to grips with things so it's all about patience. [It's] all about him not getting frustrated in the heat of the battle and keeping a cool head, that's the best advice I can give."