Joseph Parker is in London with British star David Haye, fine-tuning his preparation for his WBO world hevayweight title fight against Hughie Fury.
British boxing star David Haye has urged Joseph Parker to stay patient for a win against Hughie Fury that would change his life.
Parker defends his WBO world heavyweight title against Fury in Manchester on September 24.
The 25-year-old Kiwi is using Haye's gym as his London base before transferring north to Manchester next week.
Haye has been impressed with the physical transformation of Parker since he last saw him 10 weeks ago with the champion dropping 10kg. But Haye, a former world heavyweight champion, has also handed out advice on how to handle the tricky fight in Fury's back yard.
"Hughie Fury has got a very awkward style, a very under-rated defence and it could sort of pose Joe a few tricks early-doors until he gets to grips with things. So it’s all about patience, all about him not getting frustrated in the heat of the battle and keeping a cool head, that's the best advice I can give," Haye said.
"All he has to do is win, get his hand raised by any means and then he can look forward to much bigger things.
"This fight, I don't believe he's going to have the luxury of picking or choosing a knockout or points. He's going to need to have the fight of his life. Physically he's going to have to be on point, tactically he's going to need to be on point. The Furys ... the head coach really knows his stuff."
Haye said this was Parker's chance to really make his name in the heavyweight hotbed that has developed in Britain.
"A win against Hughie Fury in the UK, in Manchester, will be absolutely huge for Joseph Parker and his brand. It really would put his name up there in lights and it would really get the British media calling for unification fights," Haye said.
"At the moment he's a bit of an unknown, although he's the champion, he hasn't sort of been on these shores. He's popped over from time to time and teased us, but to come over here and show us what he's got with a spectacular win, that would really put his name up in lights and it would really call for one of the big unification fights with Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua. These are the big marque showcase names. This would really put his name into the hat."
Haye said Parker's attitude was there for all to see. When Parker was last in Britain in early July he was carrying weight from an extended break. But he now appeared to be in peak condition following an intensive training camp in Las Vegas that has him back to his fighting weight of around 110kg.
"He's trimmed up, clearly he's been eating sleeping and training and not much else. I know what it takes to whip yourself into great condition and he's obviously been living the life and is a completely different human being than the one who was here 10 weeks ago," Haye said.
Haye urged Parker to be careful acclimatising to Britain's autumn climate with his change in environment leaving him vulnerable to colds.
"Don't take any risks whatsoever, it's not worth it. When you're pushing your body to the limit, your immune system is pushed way beyond what it normally would be so if you're going to pick up a virus or a cold, this is the time two weeks before a fight," Haye said.
Photo caption: WBO world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker with British boxing star David Haye.