Anthony Joshua

Ref appointed for Parker-Joshua unification bout

Quartarone has refereed a world heavyweight title fight before, being in charge of Alexander Povetkin's WBA title victory over Cedric Boswell in 2011.

"We're very happy with the officials that have been appointed," Barry told Sky Sports.

"We've got three judges - one from New Zealand, one from the UK, one from the United States.

"We've got an Italian referee. We signed off on those officials [at the beginning of March]. We're very happy with what the various sanctioning bodies have appointed for us."

     

Trainer Kevin Barry believes Parker's speed is his power

While much of the pre-fight hype has surrounded Joshua's power, it’s Parker's speed that has his boxing trainer confident of a knock-out win.

Speaking to Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE, Barry revealed fans should expect a much faster, but no less powerful, Parker in Wales.

"More movement and faster feet…that’s something that we’ve worked on this whole training camp from our flexibility work to our strength and conditioning work, boxing work to our road work," said Barry.

Joshua: Parker tougher fight than Wilder

Between them the three fighters own the four major belts in the sport's glamour division, with Joshua holding the WBA and IBF crowns, Parker the WBO and Wilder the WBC.

With 20 knockouts from a perfect 20-0 professional record, Joshua is favoured to continue that march and add another belt to his collection when he and Parker square off in a much-anticipated unification bout in Cardiff on April 1 (NZ time).

Joseph Parker looking lean and mean as he readies for Anthony Joshua

The Kiwi heavyweight has used the cruel jibe from British talk show host Graham Norton and picked up by Joshua as motivation for his preparations for their world heavyweight unification fight.

WBO champion Parker tangles with WBA and IBF champion Joshua in Cardiff on April 1 (NZT) and the 26-eyar-old is determined to be in the shape of his life.

Five weeks into his Las Vegas training camp, the signs are promising with Parker quickly losing weight and regaining his trademark speed.

Khan urges Joshua to fight in USA

That is the view of British compatriot Amir Khan, who said the heavyweight star needed to raise his profile in the US to become a "global star".

Khan has fought several times in the States, most recently against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in Las Vegas, where the Mexican scored a sixth-round knockout in May 2016.

But it was a big-money bout for Khan and brought with it the kind of attention that he feels Joshua – who faces Joseph Parker on March 31 in Cardiff – would easily attract if he showed off his skills for a stateside audience.

Deontay Wilder believes Joseph Parker has one big advantage over Anthony Joshua

The highly-anticipated bout will see Joshua and Parker put their IBF, WBA Super, IBO and WBO belts and unbeaten records on the line, as both fighters aim to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

Many pundits out of the UK believe Joshua's size and skill will prove too much for Parker at the Principality Stadium on April 1 (NZ time), but Wilder has a different perspective.

Speaking to Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE's Sunday Sport, Wilder issued a warning not to be deceived by the Briton's chiselled physique.

Record sales as more than 70,000 tickets already sold for Parker v Joshua

Tickets went on general sale for the fight at Cardiff's Principality Stadium at midnight on Tuesday (NZT) and within five hours there were only a limited number of $571 and $1142 tickets remaining.

Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed on his Twitter account that the three cheapest categories had sold out in just over an hour after they had gone on sale.

The March 31 fight is sure to sell out with the stadium holding 78,000 under its retractable roof.

Joshua-Parker set for March 31

The Briton's promoters have confirmed he will put his IBF and WBA belts on the line against WBO champion Parker at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, ending months of lengthy and protracted negotiations between both camps.

Both men will put undefeated records on the line, while the victor will move a step closer to unifying the heavyweight division for the first time since Lennox Lewis achieved the feat in 1999.

Anthony Joshua demands Joseph Parker fights him in Britain

The location of the highly-anticipated unification bout remains one of the key points to completing negotiations for the heavyweight division's super fight.

Joshua confirmed the fight deal was 95 per cent over the line for a clash early this year.

Parker's promoter David Higgins is having the contract examined by legal experts and is likely to fly to London late this week to sign it off.

Parker could join him in the UK for a press conference the following week.

Parker taunts fire up Joshua

WBO champion Parker is desperate to fight WBA and IBF champion Joshua and the big Brit believes a March or April bout in the UK is "realistic".

It seems Parker's unorthodox methods of prompting Joshua into taking the fight are hitting a nerve.

Team Parker have released videos to question Joshua's "glass chin" and repeatedly accused him of greed as the Kiwis haggle for a 35 per cent cut of the net profit from what would be a mega-fight.

Joshua has tried to steer clear of the trash talk though he admits there is a place for the "gutter" element of boxing.