Trainer Kevin Barry is confident Joseph Parker can take the officials out of the equation as the lack of a neutral referee continues to dominate the buildup to this weekend's WBO world heavyweight title defence against Hughie Fury.
Parker fights Fury in Manchester on Sunday morning (NZT) with controversial English referee Terry O'Connor placed in charge by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) despite protests from the Kiwi camp.
Parker's management have promised to continue to fight for a neutral appointment over the next few days and have gained a breakthrough with the WBO ordering their vice-president, American John Duggan, to replace a British appointment as fight supervisor.
In ordering Duggan's presence at the fight, WBO president Paco Valcárcel also asked the BBoC in a strongly-worded letter to have a rethink about the referee, saying "we respectfully consider this practice as deficient and contrary to the rules and regulations of the organisation" and adding, "we truly believe our request of neutral officials fulfils the intention of all parties".
Barry is disappointed at the situation, but is leaving the political fight to Duco Events boss David Higgins while he keeps his focus on having Parker primed.
And Barry feels Parker is in a menacing mood and on target to deliver the knockout he so desperately wants to impress with on his UK debut.
"I can't control what the WBO do, I can't control what the BBBoC do, so I'm concentrating on Joe's preparation and having him deliver on the night," Barry said.
"We've had a tremendous camp. The way he looks and the way he has prepared, I think his performance on the night will take the referee, the judges and the local boxing fans right out of the equation."
The three judges in Manchester will be from Britain, New Zealand and an independent country.
Barry noted that the British moves are in stark contrast to Parker's two world title fights in Auckland against Andy Ruiz and Razvan Cojanu when totally independent WBO referees and judges worked the bouts.
"We've done the right thing, we have done the fair thing, I think there is a little bit of home cooking here and because of that I'm a little bit disappointed," Barry said.
"I'm disappointed the BBBoC didn't agree with the WBO on a level playing field. We now have John Duggan as supervisor and that gives us a level of WBO independence and an eye looking over everything. But he's not the referee and he's not one of the judges.
"It's better than what we had but we are still hopeful that the BBBoC will turn around and say they understand our concerns, that this is an important world title fight with two undefeated fighters so let's go for a neutral referee. But so far they haven't."
The Parker and Fury camps are set to front in London on Monday night (NZT) where technical details of the YouTube broadcast will be revealed, but that could be overshadowed by the referee controversy.
Parker, meanwhile, continues to polish his game in the British capital before transferring to Manchester on Thursday (NZT).
A week in London that saw him go through two six round sparring sessions along with his usual pad work and general fitness maintenance has him over the travel and in his groove.
"I think Joe's probably the most focussed I've ever seen him for a fight and he should be too," Barry said.
"The upside in a victory in this fight is huge so I'd expect his intensity level to match it.
He's always very relaxed but he's definitely focussed on this one. This is a career-defining fight for him.
"They (the Furys) know it's a difficult fight for them and they wanted to give themselves every opportunity and that's why we are here in Britain.
"It would have been difficult for them to come to New Zealand and beat Joe and the way we have prepared; I think it's going to be difficult for them in Manchester as well."
Photo by: STUFF (Caption: Kevin Barry likes the focus he is seeing from his WBO world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker).