04-06-2016, 12:35 PM
Joseph Parker has massive improvement left in him, says trainer Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry is applying mental pressure to Joseph Parker ahead of his crunch fight with Carlos Takam.
Trainer Kevin Barry sees massive development left in Joseph Parker as the Kiwi heavyweight prepares for a battle of attrition with Carlos Takam in their IBF eliminator next month.
While both fighters are knockout artists, Barry predicts a tough slog for the winner of the May 21 fight in Auckland.
The ramifications are huge with the victor going on to have the mandatory position to fight the winner of this weekend's title fight between champion Charles Martin (US) and Anthony Joshua (GB) in London.
"Here's the thing about Joseph Parker, he has been fighting very much within himself, there is a lot more to come out of Joseph Parker and I believe that a fighter like Carlos Takam will bring the best out in him," Barry told East Side Boxing as the fight starts to generate interest in the wider boxing media.
READ MORE:
* Parker bout will cost $2m
* Parker to fight in Manukau
* Takam confident of Parker KO
Barry's respect for Takam, the 35-year-old Cameroon-bron, French-based fighter, is evident as he works on a game plan for the 24-year-old Parker.
"Joseph is going to have to be very disciplined and really follow our fight plan. It's the kind of fight where if Joseph can't control the distance and allows Takam to get into the middle zone it's going to be a very hard fight for us to win," Barry said.
"This is a fight where Joe is going to have to wear his opponent down, control the fight with his jab and just win it round by round.
"Having said that I've watched a lot of Takam's fights and he is a very aggressive come forward type fighter which I prefer for Joseph. I like fighter's that come to Joseph rather than him having to chase them around the ring."
An aggressive Takam will bring him into Parker's zone where the Kiwi's power and speed are tipped to be crucial to the fight's outcome.
Barry believes the time is right for Parker to make a move in the sport's glamour division that is opening up.
It's a matter of bringing out Parker's best as quickly as possible to take him to the top.
"I'll back Joseph against any one," Barry told East Side Boxing.
"Does that mean he beats everyone? I don't know we haven't gone there yet. He's ready for this kind of step up, he and I have talked about it a lot. We could have easily left this fight for the next rotation of mandatory fights which would be something like another year, a year and a half possibly, but we felt the time was right now.
"We know this is a big step up, we know that Carlos Takam is a very big, very powerful and aggressive fighter and the type of fighter that a lot of people just don't want to fight.
"We have a lot of hard fights moving forward and this will be the start of them. This is a fight where a lot of people think we've gone in over our heads, but this is a fight that will bring out the best in Joseph Parker."
- Stuff
Kevin Barry is applying mental pressure to Joseph Parker ahead of his crunch fight with Carlos Takam.
Trainer Kevin Barry sees massive development left in Joseph Parker as the Kiwi heavyweight prepares for a battle of attrition with Carlos Takam in their IBF eliminator next month.
While both fighters are knockout artists, Barry predicts a tough slog for the winner of the May 21 fight in Auckland.
The ramifications are huge with the victor going on to have the mandatory position to fight the winner of this weekend's title fight between champion Charles Martin (US) and Anthony Joshua (GB) in London.
"Here's the thing about Joseph Parker, he has been fighting very much within himself, there is a lot more to come out of Joseph Parker and I believe that a fighter like Carlos Takam will bring the best out in him," Barry told East Side Boxing as the fight starts to generate interest in the wider boxing media.
READ MORE:
* Parker bout will cost $2m
* Parker to fight in Manukau
* Takam confident of Parker KO
Barry's respect for Takam, the 35-year-old Cameroon-bron, French-based fighter, is evident as he works on a game plan for the 24-year-old Parker.
"Joseph is going to have to be very disciplined and really follow our fight plan. It's the kind of fight where if Joseph can't control the distance and allows Takam to get into the middle zone it's going to be a very hard fight for us to win," Barry said.
"This is a fight where Joe is going to have to wear his opponent down, control the fight with his jab and just win it round by round.
"Having said that I've watched a lot of Takam's fights and he is a very aggressive come forward type fighter which I prefer for Joseph. I like fighter's that come to Joseph rather than him having to chase them around the ring."
An aggressive Takam will bring him into Parker's zone where the Kiwi's power and speed are tipped to be crucial to the fight's outcome.
Barry believes the time is right for Parker to make a move in the sport's glamour division that is opening up.
It's a matter of bringing out Parker's best as quickly as possible to take him to the top.
"I'll back Joseph against any one," Barry told East Side Boxing.
"Does that mean he beats everyone? I don't know we haven't gone there yet. He's ready for this kind of step up, he and I have talked about it a lot. We could have easily left this fight for the next rotation of mandatory fights which would be something like another year, a year and a half possibly, but we felt the time was right now.
"We know this is a big step up, we know that Carlos Takam is a very big, very powerful and aggressive fighter and the type of fighter that a lot of people just don't want to fight.
"We have a lot of hard fights moving forward and this will be the start of them. This is a fight where a lot of people think we've gone in over our heads, but this is a fight that will bring out the best in Joseph Parker."
- Stuff