As Duco Events promoter David Higgins is on his way to a negotiation table with Eddie Hearn, Anthony Joshua versus Joseph Parker is on the fast track to becoming reality.
The WBO World heavyweight titleholder Parker has already planned to set up shop in Las Vegas as he prepares for the upcoming title unification bout against the WBA Super, IBF & IBO champion.
Stylistically the fight puts together two exciting hard heavyweight hitters who both like come forward and apply pressure. The Kiwi’s coach Kevin Barry explained that they have been visualising about this fight for a long time, but legitimately had other plans instead of the unification bout.
But it was Joshua’s performance against Takam that really set the wheels in motion.
“We’ve been planning for this day. We’ve been thinking about this fight, we’ve been visualising Joe in the ring with Joshua. The styles of these guys match up very, very well,” said Barry in an interview with Sky Sports.
“Joe has always wanted this fight. When Eddie started talking after the Takam fight that Parker’s first up in 2018, we weren’t even looking at this fight, we were looking at other opponents, and then Joe said: ‘Let’s make this fight. That fight is out there, let’s go for it now.’
“He saw a lot of things in the Takam fight that really excited him. I think the Takam fight really put everything back into perspective.”
Size matters in Joshua-Parker wrote Boxing Social’s Glenn McCrory, but Parker actually plans to come lighter to the fight than expected.
“I can’t speak for Anthony Joshua, but I can speak for Joseph Parker, and yes we’ll come in lighter for this fight.
“You never really can tell what sort of weight he’s going to be, but I know Joseph Parker will definitely be coming in a little lighter than he was for the Hughie Fury fight,” told Barry.
The reason behind the decision is clear. Parker plans to out move and out work Joshua.
“I think it’s very important that Joe is very fast on his feet and very mobile in this fight against Joshua.”
So how light then?
“I think the last fight [Fury] we weighed 112[kgs]. I want to see Joe somewhere around the 108[17 stone],” revealed the trainer.
For comparison’s sake, Joshua entered the Takam fight last October in his career heaviest, weighing in at 18 stone and 2lbs.
“I sort of laughed at Anthony’s last fight where Eddie Hearn made a statement a couple of days beforehand, and I thought he might have known, when he said we’re going to see Anthony come in very light for this fight, and of course he weighed a career heaviest,” added Barry.
Barry and Parker antagonised Joshua with constant public remarks about his chin and vulnerability against hard hitting fighters. Team Parker even went as far as organising a press conference with media in attendance to show a highlight video montage of Joshua getting hit and dropped in his previous fights as a professional and amateur.
Joshua’s world famous moment of getting dropped by Wladimir Klitschko has been the main point of almost every single argument against the British fighter.
Promoter Frank Warren believes that ‘there is a chink in Joshua’s armour’ and Parker’s trainer also isn’t buying what Matchroom is selling.
Barry believes Joshua is the most overhyped boxer on earth.
“I have a lot of respect for Anthony Joshua. He’s proven to be a great amateur, he’s undefeated as a professional, but I also believe that there is a lot of hype around this man and I think he’s probably the most overhyped fighter in the world at the moment,” summarised the WBO World champion’s coach.
Speaking with ESPN, Parkers promoter Higgins is confident that an announcement regarding Joshua-Parker will be made soon.
“When it comes to the major things in this deal, we are already on the same page. Everything is positive, so I am going to London with confidence that we will wrap this up and have a big fight,” said Higgins.
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