Joseph Parker's coach Kevin Barry says if Parker loses to Anthony Joshua, it's purely because he isn't good enough.
Parker is set to face his toughest opponent yet when he fights English boxer Anthony Joshua in Cardiff, Wales on March 31 (April 1 NZT).
Barry says there'll be no excuses for losing against Joshua.
“We think there’s never been a greater time to fight Anthony Joshua and if we don’t win this fight on March 31, it’ll be because Joe’s simply not good enough."
“We think this is the right time and the right guy at the right time.”
Parker agrees and admits 2017 wasn't the best year in boxing for him.
The 26-year-old defended his WBO heavyweight title twice last year against Razvan Cojanu and Hughie Fury but says he hadn't performed at his best.
“I haven’t really shown what I’m capable of doing so we’ve been working on movement and speed," says Parker.
“We’ve been working on a lot of things but I haven’t really executed everything to the best of my ability so it’s going to be important for me to show everything that I have.”
Parker says despite Anthony Joshua's perfect undefeated record, he's not afraid of him like his past opponents were.
Joshua boasts a fighting record of 20 wins, all by K.O with no losses.
Parker, who’s also undefeated, believes Antony Joshua's past opponents lost to the English fighter because they were intimated before they got to the ring.
“The opponents already go in there and they’re scared of him," says Parker.
“He’s already won the fight because he’s intimidating. He’s a big guy, he’s got power but we don’t care, that’s why we wanted to make the fight happen.”