Heavyweight showdown: Joshua’s team making a big mistake — Parker’s promoter News

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Heavyweight showdown: Joshua’s team making a big mistake — Parker’s promoter

By Daily Sports on March 30, 2018

Anthony Joshua’s team are underestimating Joseph Parker and will be shocked by his stamina.

Parker’s promoter Dabid Higgins believes the New Zealander has advantages over home favourite Joshua which he will demonstrate when the two duke it out in a huge unification clash in Cardiff this Saturday night.

Both fighters have unbeaten professional records with British superstar Joshua’s WBA and IBF titles and Parker’s WBO belt on the line at the Principality Stadium.

But Higgins believes Joshua’s camp – including promoter Eddie Hearn – are overlooking 26-year-old Parker’s strengths as he looks to shock former Olympic champion Joshua a huge setback in his hopes of becoming undisputed heavyweight champion.

And one of those is Parker’s ability to go the distance, Higgins says, as he hailed the heavyweight’s endurance – although he conceded that equally, Joshua has his own perks.

Speaking on a one-off Sky Sports show, Promoters Go Off, Higgins – sat across from Hearn – declared: “When I said Parker’s never been dropped, he started on the pads at age three.

“He would’ve had numerous amateur fights, training camps and professional fights, and he’s literally never been off his feet in 26 years other than when he goes to bed at night to go to sleep.

“That’s a very big difference to Anthony Joshua because for every piece of footage of Joshua being dropped there’s another six rumours going around.

“It’s like every man in English boxing is putting their hand up saying ‘Hey, I dropped him too’.

“So some might be true and some not and don’t take this as disrespect for Anthony Joshua, Joshua has advantages too.

“I think he’s got a height and reach advantage. Does he have more power? He might have a touch more power, perhaps. And he’s got a home advantage.

“So we’re acknowledging both. I think they’re underestimating Joseph Parker at their peril, and I think that in the late rounds, and stamina, Parker’s been the distance four times.

“And if you watch, at the end of those 12-round fights, Parker’s panting no more than the beginning. So he’s got proven stamina.”

Offering his prediction on how the fight will unfurl, Higgins added: “So he’ll take Joshua into the deep water and once Joshua fades – remembering Joshua tends to square up a bit and be there to get hit, to a certain extent – then he’s a sitting duck.

“I think Parker will stop him late in the fight.”

•Story sourced from Express.co.uk. Photo shows world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

Source Daily Sports

Posted March 30, 2018