Anthony Joshua is expected to be the much bigger man again when he takes to the ring against Joseph Parker.
Joshua’s next fight is set to be finalised this week, as Parker’s promoter has travelled to the United Kingdom to sign the contract for the unification bout.
‘AJ’ is keen to add Parker’s WBO heavyweight title to his already impressive collection and the fight is expected to take place on British soil in either late March or early April.
Significant headway was made over Christmas when the fighters’ camps got over the stumbling block of the purse split, agreeing on a deal which will see the Kiwi pocket between 30 and 35 per cent of the fight purse.
They've reached a compromise https://t.co/kAR5qNm4hr
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) December 28, 2017
Joshua is accustomed to dwarfing his opponents in the ring and, just like he was in his most recent title defence, he is expected to be at least a stone heavier than Parker.
Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry has revealed that he and his star fighter are aiming to be significantly lighter than the Brit.
“I can’t speak for Anthony Joshua, but I can speak for Joseph Parker, and yes we’ll come in lighter for this fight,” Barry told Sky Sports.
“I think it’s very important that Joe is very fast on his feet and very mobile in this fight against Joshua.
Eddie Hearn was wrong then https://t.co/mkfc15VItg
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) October 28, 2017
“I sort of laughed at Anthony’s last fight where Eddie Hearn made a statement a couple of days beforehand, and I thought he might have known, when he said we’re going to see Anthony come in very light for this fight, and of course he weighed a career heaviest.
“You never really can tell what sort of weight he’s going to be, but I know Joseph Parker will definitely be coming in a little lighter than he was for the Hughie Fury fight.
“I think the last fight we weighed 112[kgs]. I want to see Joe somewhere around the 108[kgs].”
Joshua’s weighed in at 18st 2lbs ahead of his October clash with Carlos Takam in Cardiff which was slightly bigger than he was ahead of his April war with Wladimir Klitschko (17st 12lbs).
He has become increasingly heavy in each outing and, while promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested in the past that he expects Joshua to trim down, he’ll definitely be the heavier man on the scales when he aims to make it 21-0.
