Wednesday 17 January 2018 13:35, UK
Johnny Nelson was at the press conference to see Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker go head to head for the first time and was impressed by the way they handled the occasion, especially the New Zealander...
It wasn't one of those trash-talking, nose-to-nose press conferences but it was fascinating to see. There were two things that stood out to me: Joseph Parker clearly believes he can win this and, to start with at least, Anthony Joshua looked a little irritated.
That was the first thing that struck me, when David Higgins was put on the spot about the 'glass chin' stuff again. Higgins is going to be the one who is throwing things into the mix, and you could see Joshua was a little bit annoyed by it. And he probably has been for a while.
He has let Higgins come out with all that stuff in the build-up and today, when it came down to him, on that stage, he looked very, very confident.
But the one thing about Joshua was the fact he addressed it. He went into the knockdowns we all know about, and for the first time I can recall, was happy to go into detail, especially the David Price one and the other one, not just Wladimir Klitschko. He used them to his advantage in a very smart move.
Joshua was happy to talk about those knockdowns and what was going on out of the ring. He made it clear that he has been put down before and got up again.
Klitschko was the obvious one, but the others are now on record and he wanted to switch it around - and did. Parker's team have made a point that their man hasn't been down, so what happens if that happens in Cardiff?
Will Parker be able to do what Joshua was able to do against Klitschko? Joshua span that in quite nicely, because there are plenty of questions Parker will have to answer. Especially that one.
How will he get on in front of 80,000 fans? Will this be the career-defining fight he, his trainer and his promoter know it has to be if he is to win?
We will see but I have to say I liked the way Parker handled himself today. He looked very calm and very thoughtful but the big thing was his belief. We have seen fighters talk themselves up but when it comes to it, everything changes. Parker hasn't been shouting things out, and it looks like he doesn't feel he needs to.
He has let Higgins come out with all that stuff in the build-up and today, when it came down to him, on that stage, he looked very, very confident.
Watch the Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker world heavyweight title unification fight, from Principality Stadium, Cardiff, on March 31, live and exclusive om Sky Sports Box Office.
