06-10-2015, 08:42 PM
NZ heavyweight Joseph Parker training to go the extra distance with Yakup Saglam
Joseph Parker's boxing will be tested over 12 rounds for the first time on Saturday night when he takes on German fighter Yakup 'The Scorpion' Saglam in their heavyweight bout in Palmerston North.
Parker has had 13 fights as a professional but mostly over 10 rounds and has been preparing for the fight to go all the way at training in Las Vegas and Florida.
"The way we have prepared we are prepared to go the distance," Parker said at Wednesday's press conference.
"It gets pretty serious, worse than the fight sometimes. My fitness is there to go 12 rounds, so I'm ready."
Parker has been going hard with his Polish sparring partner of Nigerian origin, Izuagbe Ugonoh.
Parker's opponent, Saglam, might be aged 38 - Parker is 23 - but the German fighter of Turkish origin looked trim when he fronted the media and is expected to plant himself in the middle of the ring on Saturday.
"He has definitely got a lot of power; he looks like he can throw big bombs," Parker said. "He's not floating like a butterfly, but he is definitely staunch and we can tell he's in good shape."
The Parker camp have studied footage of Saglam and know they have to sharpen up Parker's defence which has slackened off in the past, and hope to bring the jab into play.
Saglam possesses more power than most of Parker's previous opponents: "An 80 per cent knockout percentage is pretty big," Parker said.
The Kiwi could see the amusing side of holding a press conference in a burger eatery, in deference to the fight sponsors, but said he would only indulge in the products after the fight.
Rankings from two organisations, the WBO (World Boxing Organisation) and WBA (World Boxing Association), will be at stake in Palmerston North and the more regional titles Parker can collect, the quicker he can climb them.
Saglam said he'd sparred with world champion Wladimir Klitschko six years ago and claimed, through an interpreter, that the Ukrainian "got scared and pulled out".Saglam hadn't been there to make friends, he claimed.
Most took that rhetoric with a grain of salt while Parker's trainer, Kevin Barry, said Klitschko had a lot of sparring partners, often six to eight.
- Stuff
Joseph Parker's boxing will be tested over 12 rounds for the first time on Saturday night when he takes on German fighter Yakup 'The Scorpion' Saglam in their heavyweight bout in Palmerston North.
Parker has had 13 fights as a professional but mostly over 10 rounds and has been preparing for the fight to go all the way at training in Las Vegas and Florida.
"The way we have prepared we are prepared to go the distance," Parker said at Wednesday's press conference.
"It gets pretty serious, worse than the fight sometimes. My fitness is there to go 12 rounds, so I'm ready."
Parker has been going hard with his Polish sparring partner of Nigerian origin, Izuagbe Ugonoh.
Parker's opponent, Saglam, might be aged 38 - Parker is 23 - but the German fighter of Turkish origin looked trim when he fronted the media and is expected to plant himself in the middle of the ring on Saturday.
"He has definitely got a lot of power; he looks like he can throw big bombs," Parker said. "He's not floating like a butterfly, but he is definitely staunch and we can tell he's in good shape."
The Parker camp have studied footage of Saglam and know they have to sharpen up Parker's defence which has slackened off in the past, and hope to bring the jab into play.
Saglam possesses more power than most of Parker's previous opponents: "An 80 per cent knockout percentage is pretty big," Parker said.
The Kiwi could see the amusing side of holding a press conference in a burger eatery, in deference to the fight sponsors, but said he would only indulge in the products after the fight.
Rankings from two organisations, the WBO (World Boxing Organisation) and WBA (World Boxing Association), will be at stake in Palmerston North and the more regional titles Parker can collect, the quicker he can climb them.
Saglam said he'd sparred with world champion Wladimir Klitschko six years ago and claimed, through an interpreter, that the Ukrainian "got scared and pulled out".Saglam hadn't been there to make friends, he claimed.
Most took that rhetoric with a grain of salt while Parker's trainer, Kevin Barry, said Klitschko had a lot of sparring partners, often six to eight.
- Stuff