Anthony Joshua was left baffled by Joseph Parker’s team’s revelations about his elbow surgery.
Parker will share the ring with Joshua in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday night and ahead of the heavyweight unification bout, the Kiwi has made no secret of the fact that he went under the knife after his last fight.
Parker underwent a procedure in his native New Zealand to deal with a long-standing elbow issue and his camp insists that the operation will prove to be a positive because there will be no injuries hindering Parker’s movement come the weekend.
However the decision to go public with the injury makes no sense in Joshua’s mind.
With just days to go until both undefeated heavyweight champions put their perfect records on the line, ‘AJ’ revealed that he would be silly not to target the affected area before suggesting that Parker made a huge mistake in admitting to the problem.
When asked by FightHype about Parker’s elbow surgery, Joshua said: “I am gonna blast him in that elbow. What was it? The left one?
“You should never give away your injuries, man. That’s rule number one in the sport industry. You don’t talk about your injuries.”
Joshua is a heavy favourite going into the contest but Parker, the WBO heavyweight champ, is a legitimate opponent who could pose problems with his speed and ability to take a shot.
While he acknowledged Parker’s talent, Joshua’s trainer Rob McCracken is adamant that the Kiwi does not represent the most difficult challenge of Joshua’s career.
“I think Klitschko is his toughest test to date, without a shadow of a doubt,” McCracken said. “He had 53 knockouts to his name and was massively motivated for the Joshua fight. But this is his next biggest test and a hurdle Anthony must overcome.
“Parker’s an unbeaten opponent, so he doesn’t believe he can lose. But being fast and calm and relaxed – all things you need going into a big fight – doesn’t prepare you for getting in the ring with Anthony Joshua. It really doesn’t. He hits you and you don’t know why you’re getting hit.”
