Joseph Parker has the best possible mentor ahead of his clash with Deontay Wilder in Tyson Fury.
‘The Gypsy King’ is the only man to have beaten Wilder in his 46-fight career, in fact he did it twice, and he happens to be a friend and training partner of Parker.
Parker is hoping to cause a huge upset against Wilder
As such, former WBO heavyweight world champion Parker, who is a big underdog against Wilder ahead of their December 23 clash in Saudi Arabia, has been getting advice from Fury on how to go about beating his upcoming opponent.
“Tyson was able to give me some advice and some knowledge on fighting Deontay Wilder,” Parker told talkSPORT.
“The only difference is I’m not 6ft 9in with the longest reach, so whatever my strengths are I have to use them to the best of my ability.
“He has given me a few pointers and advice and he’s actually helped me with sparring so anytime I have needed Tyson’s help, he’s always been there, so thanks to him for always making time to help me, especially for this camp and this fight coming up.”
Parker is one of the most active fighters in the heavyweight division at the moment, having been in the ring three times this year already, winning all three bouts.
Whereas, Wilder has only fought for one round, when he knocked out Robert Helenius, since 2021, and Parker believes this inactivity could lead to his downfall come fight night.
“I feel it’s very important to be active because you’re always working, you’re always progressing, always getting better,” Parker explained.
“You’re working on your ringcraft, technique, skills, you’re not trying to get in shape because you’re already in shape.
“I think with Wilder having that long time off, we’ll soon see if he has that thing called ring rust which I know a lot of fighters do have when they haven’t fought for a long time.”
As for how Parker sees the fight going, he said: “I’m going to go out there with supreme confidence, I’ve done the work, I’m in shape and I’m ready to go.
“I’m going to be calculated, no wasteful punches will be delivered, I’ll make him miss and I’ll make him pay.”
