Fury rates Parker the best
Quote:Hughie Fury rates Kiwi Joseph Parker as the best of the recognised heavyweight champions - better even than fellow Englishman Anthony Joshua.
Fury, who will fight Parker for the WBO title at Auckland's Vector Arena on May 6, said it was the South Aucklander's hunger and skill which sets him apart from the heavy-hitting Joshua, the IBF champion who will defend his title against Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley on April 29, and WBC champion Deontay Wilder, an American with a vicious right hand.
"They've all got their own strengths but I think Joseph Parker is the best out there at the minute," Fury said.
"He's the toughest fight between all three of them because he's hungry ... [and] he's got lots of skill.
"Wilder's just wild. He's just trying to land the big bomb and that's all he's got."
The respect between Fury's camp and Parker has been clear for months since the fight was made, with the 25-year-old also on good terms with Hughie's cousin, Tyson, the former lineal champion. That cordiality isn't the norm - the Furys have made their disdain of Joshua and Wilder quite clear.
Some of that could be due to the fact that they couldn't agree terms to fight former Olympian Joshua, but Hughie said it was because Parker himself was respectful and not prone to getting ahead of himself.
Parker's record and the fact that he has fought what many believe to be tougher opposition than Joshua and Wilder is another factor.
"He's a fighting man," Hughie Fury said.
"He's a respectful person. I look at Joseph Parker and you can see he's a nice lad so when you get people like that in this sport, there's no point disrespecting is there?
He's a fighting man and we're both here to do our job."
The Furys, who have delayed their arrival to New Zealand until a fortnight before the fight, are used to big occasions following Tyson's surprise victory over Klitschko two years ago.
Hughie has an excellent training partner in Tyson, who is returning to the sport following his mental health and drug issues, which saw him relinquish his world titles.
Success against Parker for the 22-year-old and similarly undefeated Hughie, would bring the WBO belt back to the family. "It's what we've always been in boxing for, to achieve our dreams ... I'm almost there and I am going to do 100 per cent and bring that title back.
"There's no doubts in my mind whatsoever so, like dad [and trainer Peter] said, Joseph's got to knock me out and he's going to find that very hard. We are very confident in what we do and the strengths and the ability of what we've got."