07-19-2018, 05:28 PM
Pressure on Joseph Parker to put on a show for British public, says Kevin Barry
Marvin France
Joseph Parker is looking to bounce back from his first professional defeat in London next week.
Trainer Kevin Barry admits Joseph Parker not only needs to beat Dillian Whyte in London next week, he needs to do it in style if he is to continue to appeal to the lucrative British market.
Parker and his team have invested heavily in building the Kiwi heavyweight's profile in the UK, with the showdown against Whyte at the The O2 Arena his third-consecutive fight up north.
While Parker generated plenty of goodwill from the British public and media after becoming the first man to take Anthony Joshua the distance in April, Barry felt many expected more from the 26-year-old as he surrendered the WBO crown with a unanimous points defeat.
Kevin Barry expects a busier Joseph Parker against Dillian Whyte.
Much of that was down to Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone's reluctance to allow the pair to engage in close quarters.
But having also produced a "lacklustre" win over Hughie Fury in his UK debut last year, Barry knows the pressure is on Parker to put on a show to keep the British onside.
Kevin Barry says the experience against Anthony Joshua has developed Joseph Parker into a more mature boxer.
"We have to be entertaining in this fight for our commercial viability moving forward," Barry told Stuff ahead of their arrival in London this week.
"I need the Joseph Parker who made his reputation all the way to a world title throwing fast combinations, not a guy fighting off the back foot jabbing and moving.
"I need a guy who is going to let his hands go that is very, very exciting to watch. That is they guy we need to be on display so that the fans say we want to see more of Joseph Parker."
Parker, whose last four fights have been decided by the judges, has not recorded a knockout since his third-round stoppage of Alexander Dimitrenko in October 2016.
Whyte has an aggressive style and will take the fight to the Kiwi, which Barry plans to use to their advantage.
But he has promised a much busier Parker than we have seen in recent performances.
"This time we need to see all the tools being on display and that is how we trained," Barry said.
"There is going to be a lot more punches thrown, there is going to be a lot more intensity.
"[Whyte] is a fighter who loves to engage, he doesn't mind taking two to give three. He's made his reputation fighting that style and we hope to use that particular style to be the unravelling of him."
Parker (24-1) and Whyte (23-1) both suffered their only professional defeats to Joshua and the winner will position themselves for a rematch against the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion.
It's a dangerous match-up for both men but Barry praised Parker for jumping straight back into the deep end against Whyte, who is ranked first in the WBC and second in the WBO.
"He knows that this is our redemption fight.
"It would have been so easy for us as a team to take a couple of easy fights in our own time, get a couple of wins behind Joe's name and then have another go to build him up in the rankings.
"But Joe is the leader of our team and he made it very clear to us after the Joshua fight that he doesn't want any gimme fights.
"He wants to fight the biggest names and the biggest challenges that are out there and Whyte definitely falls into that category."
Parker is stepping into somewhat of the unknown against Whyte as he looks to bounce back from his first defeat as a professional.
However, Barry believes the whole Joshua experience, from the extensive promotional work to the fight itself in front of 80,000 people in Cardiff, has only helped him grow.
With a much shorter preparation time of seven weeks for this bout, he challenged Parker to make every training session count.
And Barry has been encouraged with what he has seen.
"His body looks tremendous and we have done more rounds in four weeks than we've ever done before," Barry said. "We have stepped up the strength and conditioning work and we have got some very good results with that.
"All in all, I'm seeing a more mature Joseph Parker than the fighter who stepped into a ring with Anthony Joshua."
WATCHING THE FIGHT?
Win free Sky Arena access
Watch online with FANPASS
Stuff
Marvin France
Joseph Parker is looking to bounce back from his first professional defeat in London next week.
Trainer Kevin Barry admits Joseph Parker not only needs to beat Dillian Whyte in London next week, he needs to do it in style if he is to continue to appeal to the lucrative British market.
Parker and his team have invested heavily in building the Kiwi heavyweight's profile in the UK, with the showdown against Whyte at the The O2 Arena his third-consecutive fight up north.
While Parker generated plenty of goodwill from the British public and media after becoming the first man to take Anthony Joshua the distance in April, Barry felt many expected more from the 26-year-old as he surrendered the WBO crown with a unanimous points defeat.
Kevin Barry expects a busier Joseph Parker against Dillian Whyte.
Much of that was down to Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone's reluctance to allow the pair to engage in close quarters.
But having also produced a "lacklustre" win over Hughie Fury in his UK debut last year, Barry knows the pressure is on Parker to put on a show to keep the British onside.
Kevin Barry says the experience against Anthony Joshua has developed Joseph Parker into a more mature boxer.
"We have to be entertaining in this fight for our commercial viability moving forward," Barry told Stuff ahead of their arrival in London this week.
"I need the Joseph Parker who made his reputation all the way to a world title throwing fast combinations, not a guy fighting off the back foot jabbing and moving.
"I need a guy who is going to let his hands go that is very, very exciting to watch. That is they guy we need to be on display so that the fans say we want to see more of Joseph Parker."
Parker, whose last four fights have been decided by the judges, has not recorded a knockout since his third-round stoppage of Alexander Dimitrenko in October 2016.
Whyte has an aggressive style and will take the fight to the Kiwi, which Barry plans to use to their advantage.
But he has promised a much busier Parker than we have seen in recent performances.
"This time we need to see all the tools being on display and that is how we trained," Barry said.
"There is going to be a lot more punches thrown, there is going to be a lot more intensity.
"[Whyte] is a fighter who loves to engage, he doesn't mind taking two to give three. He's made his reputation fighting that style and we hope to use that particular style to be the unravelling of him."
Parker (24-1) and Whyte (23-1) both suffered their only professional defeats to Joshua and the winner will position themselves for a rematch against the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion.
It's a dangerous match-up for both men but Barry praised Parker for jumping straight back into the deep end against Whyte, who is ranked first in the WBC and second in the WBO.
"He knows that this is our redemption fight.
"It would have been so easy for us as a team to take a couple of easy fights in our own time, get a couple of wins behind Joe's name and then have another go to build him up in the rankings.
"But Joe is the leader of our team and he made it very clear to us after the Joshua fight that he doesn't want any gimme fights.
"He wants to fight the biggest names and the biggest challenges that are out there and Whyte definitely falls into that category."
Parker is stepping into somewhat of the unknown against Whyte as he looks to bounce back from his first defeat as a professional.
However, Barry believes the whole Joshua experience, from the extensive promotional work to the fight itself in front of 80,000 people in Cardiff, has only helped him grow.
With a much shorter preparation time of seven weeks for this bout, he challenged Parker to make every training session count.
And Barry has been encouraged with what he has seen.
"His body looks tremendous and we have done more rounds in four weeks than we've ever done before," Barry said. "We have stepped up the strength and conditioning work and we have got some very good results with that.
"All in all, I'm seeing a more mature Joseph Parker than the fighter who stepped into a ring with Anthony Joshua."
WATCHING THE FIGHT?
Win free Sky Arena access
Watch online with FANPASS
Stuff