Solomon Haumono: Joseph Parker hasn't faced a fighter with my power

Solomon Haumono says he has the power to beat Joseph Parker. Photo/Brett Phibbs

Australian Solomon Haumono says he has the power to beat Joseph Parker and deprive the New Zealander of his goal of becoming world champion.

Haumono, this morning confirmed as Parker's next opponent in Christchurch on Thursday, July 21, was in a confident mood despite watching Parker confirm his class during his victory over Carlos Takam in Manukau on Saturday.

The 40-year-old was present "incognito" at the Vodafone Events Centre as Parker secured the IBF world heavyweight title eliminator over 12 tough rounds, and believes he has seen some significant defensive frailties.

"There are many flaws there I believe, but that applies to all of us fighters," Haumono said. "I don't want to say too much, but I will bring something new to the table.

"The whole of New Zealand doesn't give me a chance, but when has an Aussie every lain down for a Kiwi?

"Joseph is at the top of his game [but] I believe I bring power to the table. No one that he's faced has the same power that I bring to the table."

Parker, who will fly to Dubai tomorrow for the start of a two-week holiday before his five-week training camp at his Las Vegas base, agreed with trainer Kevin Barry that he got a few things wrong against Takam, including holding his hands too low. He said he was looking forward to fixing those issues.

"Kev has given me two weeks off and I think that's enough time to relax the body and the mind. I'm looking forward to getting back into camp and preparing myself for the next challenge," he said. "It's good that we're keeping busy, we find that works a lot better."

Barry, who was brought up in Christchurch and is looking forward to returning for a Parker fight for the first time, said: "Joe has done a lot of training over the past three months so having two weeks off won't hurt him too much. In fact, he needs to freshen up now.

"There were defensive lapses in that fight that I was very unhappy with... I saw when the pressure really went on there were a couple of times that Joe reverted back to his old habits. I don't want to be too critical but we set high standards. Our goal is to become world champion and if we are to achieve that we need a skillset at a very high level.

"There's pressure on Joe, there's a big target on his back every time he walks into the ring."

Adding extra intrigue to the fight at Horncastle Arena in Addington is the fact Parker will be fighting for his WBA PBA belt that was stripped from him late last year after his camp refused to fight Haumono.

A loss will deprive Parker of his mandatory challenge position for the title currently held by Englishman Anthony Joshua.