Anthony Joshua will return to a happy hunting ground for his next outing.
With locations like Barcelona and Germany touted as potential sites for Joshua’s first fight in 2018, Cardiff has reportedly won out and will host the monster unification bout against Joseph Parker.
‘AJ’ has fought in Cardiff on two occasions and most definitely draws a crowd, with 78,000 fans packing out the Principality Stadium in October to watch Joshua stop Carlos Takam in the tenth round.
The undefeated Brit will hope for similar good fortune on March 31, when he aims to add Parker’s WBO heavyweight title to his already impressive collection of belts.
They've reached a compromise https://t.co/kAR5qNm4hr
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) December 28, 2017
Both The Daily Mail and The Sun have reported that the location and date are set in stone, with just the final details being put on the deal this week before confirmation likely arrives at a press conference in a few days.
Parker’s promoter David Higgins travelled to the UK on Monday to meet with Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn and the WBO champ is expected to follow on Thursday.
The Kiwi will be significantly lighter than Joshua when they meet in the centre of the ring, with Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry revealing that he hopes that the 25-year-old will be more mobile than ‘AJ’.
'AJ' could be a stone heavier than his opponent https://t.co/saVf95iHsF
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) January 8, 2018
Barry believes that Joshua’s ability has been built up too much in the minds of the British public and, having spotted some flaws in Joshua’s victory over Takam, Parker’s team has a gameplan plan in place.
“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,” Barry told Sky Sports.
“Joe has always wanted this fight. When Eddie [Hearn]Â started talking after the Carlos Takam fight that Parker was 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.”
