‘I feel revived’ – Joseph Parker looking to put losses against Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte behind him, as he prepares for clash with Joe Joyce
Joseph Parker insists that we will see a different version of him against Joe Joyce than the man who lost to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte.
In 2016, Parker became a world champion when he beat Andy Ruiz Jr by majority decision. He then defended the belt twice before daring to be great by taking on Joshua in a heavyweight world title unification bout.
On this occasion, he fell short and this loss was quickly followed with a defeat against another Brit in Whyte, which somewhat derailed Parker’s career trajectory.
The New Zealander spent the next few years fighting lesser known opponents and putting in lacklustre performances, before taking matters into his own hands.
Parker decided to move to the UK to train with former middleweight world champion Andy Lee and he has WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in his camp too.
This has sparked new energy into Parker’s career and he has looked much improved in his two most recent wins over Derek Chisora.
“The fighter that I was in my past is a different fighter to what I am now,” Parker told talkSPORT.
“There was a period in my boxing career where when I fought and I enjoyed it and I loved it, but then I lost the passion, I lost the love for it and the passion for the sport.
“But with this new change of trainer with Andy, being based in the UK and having Tyson around and him being very generous and helpful for my career, I feel revived.”
It has not been all smooth sailing, however, as Parker has had to leave behind a lot of home comforts, including his family, but it will all be worth it if he beats Joyce on Saturday night.
“The most difficult thing to do was leaving my old trainer, Kevin Barry, but now that I’ve linked up with Andy, I feel like I’ve just started boxing again,” Parker said.
“It is a hard thing leaving my wife and my kids, but there’s a reason why I’m doing this and I’m going to make it worth it, being away from them.
“I’ve put in the work, trained hard and I’ve enjoyed every single part of camp and now it’s time to shine.”
