Joseph Parker

Fury started with the lip stuff but Parker gave back better than he got and Fury finally snapped, shoving the Kiwi back. The champion just smiled as chaos broke out around him. Fury's handlers pounced on two of Parker's team as they moved in to make sure their man was safe.

Parker had every right to label Fury "little" as he takes a 10kg weight advantage into the title fight at the Manchester Arena on Saturday (Sunday NZ Time). Parker, looking solid, weighed in at 112kg with Fury, lacking the muscle definition to match the champion, was only 102kg.

The cheers will quickly turn to jeers but Joseph Parker will thrive on the hostilities in the Manchester Arena when he fights local hero Hughie Fury.

That's the firm belief of Parker's trainer Kevin Barry as the Kiwi heavyweight's UK debut in his WBO world title defence looms ever closer.

Parker arrived in Manchester from London on Thursday (NZT) and was given a surprisingly warm welcome as he went through a public workout in a ring set up in a busy downtown restaurant zone.

But walking into the ring on fight night will be another matter.

The original appointment had been a hot issue with Parker promoter David Higgins given O'Connor had controlled opponent Hughie Fury's last two fights and also had history with Fury's cousin Tyson, the former world heavyweight champion.

Peter Fury masterminded his nephew Tyson Fury's stunning win over Klitschko in December 2015, a result that blew the division open after 11 years of dominance by the giant Ukrainian.

Now Peter Fury is hoping his son Hughie will beat WBO champion Parker in Manchester on Sunday (NZT) and return the belt to the family.

Peter Fury might have been rudely dismissive of Parker's promoter David Higgins in an expletive riddled send-off as they argued over the British referee controlling this fight, but he had nothing but praise for the 25-year-old New Zealand boxer.

WBO heavyweight champion Parker and challenger Fury both vowed to win by knockout before facing off at today's media conference.

The conference then heated up when Parker's promoter David Higgins got into a shouting match with Hughie's father and manager Peter Fury over the selection of the referee for the fight.

Earlier this month the British Boxing Board of Control named British referee Terry O'Connor, the same official in charge of Hughie Fury's last two bouts to control the fight.

Parker will defend his world heavyweight WBO title against Hughie Fury in Manchester next weekend.

The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) has named British referee Terry O'Connor to control the fight, the same official in charge of Hughie Fury's last two bouts.

Parker has called for a netural referee for the bout describing O'Connor as a "home-town appointment."

Former world featherweight champion and boxing promoter Barry McGuigan visited Parker's training camp in London and also questioned the decision to appoint O'Connor to oversee the bout.

Joseph Parker wants to make London his home base as he looks to unify the heavyweight division.

The WBO world heavyweight champion defends his title against Hughie Fury in Manchester on September 24 (NZT) in his UK debut.

The 25-year-old is in London tapering his preparations before moving north to the fight venue in the middle of next week.

Parker did the media rounds in the British capital on Wednesday and made it clear he believes he has a future there if he can keep his unbeaten run going.

There's a bit of ill-feeling creeping back into the troubled promotion just over a week out from their WBO world heavyweight title fight in Manchester on September 24.

And it's been pretty one-sided with most of the barbs coming from the Fury camp with Hughie labelling Parker a "chump" rather than a champ and questioning the Kiwi's gratitude for the big payday that looms from a fight that was transferred north.

Parker (20-0, 18 KOs) defends his world title against Hughie Fury (20-0, 10 KOs) in Manchester on September 24.

Parker won the belt when it was vacated by Tyson Fury last year as the giant Brit's career was sidetracked by drugs and depression.

Tyson Fury hasn't fought since he won the WBO, IBF, IBO and WBA titles off Wladimir Klitschko in late 2015 and remains non-commital about his own fighting future.

But he's predicting big things for 22-year-old Hughie who is coming off 18 months of inactivity to step up and take on the unbeaten Parker.

New Zealand boxing star Joseph Parker has cast his special vote in London for the New Zealand election, eager to get that out of the way ahead of his WBO world heavyweight title defence.

Parker makes his British debut when he fights Hughie Fury in Manchester on the same day as the New Zealand election.

The proud Kiwi was happy to tick that off amidst another day of business and pleasure in the British capital on Wednesday.