Hughie Fury

Hughie Fury has taken his world heavyweight title fight preparations to freak proportions, sparring with the "world's strongest man" Eddie Hall.

Fury takes on WBO champion Joseph Parker in Manchester on September 24.

As his sparring enters its final phase, the 22-year-old Fury was briefly joined in the ring at his training camp by fellow Brit Hall.

Hall, 29, was crowned the world's strongest man at the official championship in Botswana in May. He is a six-time UK strongest man winner and is the only man to deadlift 500kg under strongman rules.

Parker defends his belt for the second time when he fronts against Fury at Manchester Arena on September 23.

Parker's low profile in Britain – this will be his debut there – always put a question mark about this being a blockbuster fight. But Fury's inability to draw a home crowd has some perplexed.

The Manchester Arena has a capacity of 21,000 for boxing. But Fury's promoters aren't even trying to sell seats to the second tier which holds nearly nine thousand.

Parker defends his belt for the second time when he fronts Fury in Manchester on September 23 in a battle of two young unbeaten fighters.

Fury has been talking tough in the leadup to the fight and ramped that up when asked for a prediction for his victory.

"Four rounds I would say. Four rounds ... knock out," he told WOTV. 

Parker has also voiced his determination to score a knockout win and hammer home his abilities to the British market where he believes bigger fights lie beyond Fury.

Parker defends his title against Fury in the UK city of Manchester on September 23.

A war of words has been simmering in the buildup to a fight that has had plenty of ill-feeling to it after Fury failed to front for the original clash in Auckland in May, citing a back injury.

Parker has questioned Fury's Spartan-styled training camp and claimed he saw fear in the lanky Brit's eyes when they finally met at a promotion in Manchester in July.

Taking his belt on the road to make his British debut hasn't dissuaded the men who set the odds.

The New Zealand TAB has Parker a firm favourite in head-to-head betting, offering $1.65 for the win.

They have placed Fury at $2.15 to win in his own back yard.

It's a similar line in Britain, where Ladbrokes has Parker at $1.67 and Fury at $2.20 with the draw at $21.

William Hill sees it slightly closer, offering $1.80 for Parker and $2 for Fury with the draw at $23.

Barry and Parker are back in camp preparing for the September 23 title defence against Fury in Manchester.

It will be Parker's debut in the United Kingdom which has now supplanted the United States as the hotbed of the heavyweight scene.

Parker is eager to make an impact, knowing an impressive win over Fury will be a huge step towards bigger fights and bigger money.

"We are really excited about having our first fight in the UK. We have been trying to get there for the last 18 months. We need to explode on the scene in the UK," Barry told Boxing Scene.

Parker defends his belt against Fury in Manchester on September 23.

They finally met up last month in a British promotion for the fight and the 25-year-old felt there was a tell-tale sign from Fury during their stare down.

"It's good that he believes in himself, " Parker told World Boxing News of the brave talk coming out of the Fury training camp in Lake Windermere.

"But during the stare down in Manchester last month his eyes gave him away. They told a totally different story and trust me, he's worried."

Boxing is never short of promotional stunts but the lanky Brit seems to be pushing his cause a bit too far ahead of the September 23 clash in Manchester.

He's been running around Windermere in Britain's famous Lakes District in army fatigues and now he's doing Sylvester Stallone impersonations.

Fury lined out for a training session/photo shoot at a local abattoir, doing his best to replicate Stallone's Philadelphia scene from the first Rocky movie which Fury says remains one his his favourites.

Daniel Dubois is regarded as the next big thing in the buoyant British heavyweight boxing scene.

The 19-year-old has turned his back on a shot at the Tokyo Olympics to go professional and has cruised through his first four fights with consecutive knockout wins.

But it's in the sparring ring where he has also made his mark, knocking down Joshua while helping his fellow Brit prepare for his recent win over veteran Wladimir Klitschko to add the WBA belt to his IBF title.

Kiwi Parker makes his British debut in Manchester on September 23 when he defends his WBO world heavyweight title against local hope Hughie Fury.

It will be just Parker's fifth bout overseas after an unbeaten run of 23 professional fights with his rapid success built on home performances. He fought twice in the United States and once in Germany in his early career and also had a win in Samoa.

Britain is the hotbed of the heavyweight scene right now and Parker knows this is his chance to make a statement.