Joseph Parker has pledged to derail the Joe Joyce hype train when the pair meet in Manchester on Saturday night.
And Joyce effectively said he plans to use the fight as a stepping stone to a heavyweight clash with Parker’s training partner Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk.
Parker is adamant he is a different fighter from the one who lost to Anthony Joshua and then Dillian Whyte before going on a six-fight winning streak, while Joyce is bidding to add a 15th win to his unblemished career in the professional ranks.
Joyce has been talked up since his shock knock-out of Daniel Dubois, but his Kiwi rival said: “I see a lump when I look at him, a big man, a man that’s confident, a man that’s ready but a man who is going to be stopped in his tracks. I truly believe that and I am very confident going into this fight. Hype train.”
Parker, originally brought in to spar with Fury for one of the Briton’s own fight camps, has seen an unlikely friendship blossom between the pair to the extent that Fury has not just trained with him in the build-up but let Parker stay in his family home in Morecambe.
“We’ve been in the gym every day grinding away, with Tyson joining our runs and training, cheering us on with positive vibes,” he said. “Everything has been ticked off in this camp and there are no excuses and no doubts. I will go in there and win well. Joe Joyce has one style, I don’t see any adjustments. It just depends on how I show up.”
Joyce’s camp this week put their fighter in the top three heavyweights in the world alongside Fury and Usyk, either of whom he is targeting after the Parker fight.
He said: “They’re both top-level fighters and either one of them will have different challenges. Whichever one I get first, we’ll just have to deal with that when it comes. They’re the best out there now. I’ll fight either one of them.
“So, there’s a lot on the line here for both of us. It’s the biggest fight to date. It’s going to be great. He sees me as a lump and this big lump will be coming at him on Saturday night.”
