Joseph Parker plans to 'bash' Derek Chisora then regain a belt: 'I've been champion before and I want to be champion again'
Derek Chisora vs Joseph Parker, Katie Taylor vs Natasha Jonas, Dmitry Bivol vs Craig Richards, Chris Eubank Jr vs Marcus Morrison, Campbell Hatton - Saturday night, live on Sky Sports Box Office
Thursday 29 April 2021 06:08, UK
Joseph Parker has promised a return to the explosive performances that made him an unbeaten world heavyweight champion when he faces Derek Chisora.
Parker and Chisora collide in a battle between heavyweight contenders on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, alongside Katie Taylor vs Natasha Jonas.
"You will see some good changes," Parker told Sky Sports. "I'll be sharper, with better movement and better footwork. I'll be focused for the whole fight.
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"If I execute the game-plan that [new trainer Andy Lee] has put in place, it should be a good night for Team Parker.
"I expect Derek to be Derek - to apply pressure from the beginning, throwing punches, bombs.
"But we've done everything we can to prepare for whatever he brings.
"I've been champion before and I want to be champion again.
"In order to achieve that goal I have to get Derek out of the way first. Then set up the other fights that are out there."
Parker became WBO champion four-and-a-half years ago but conceded the belt to Anthony Joshua, who is set to face Tyson Fury with every divisional title on the line.
New Zealand's Parker is ranked at No 3 by the WBO and knows an impressive stoppage of the teak-tough Chisora would propel him closer to his ambition.
"Winning is the most important thing but it's how you win," he said. "You need a win in good fashion and that's what will get people excited about the climb back to the top."
Asked if he feared Chisora, Parker said: "Not at all. There is respect but when I get in the ring I want to bash him!
"The same as what he wants to do to me.
"There is respect before and after the fight but, when the bell goes, it's out of the window.
"I can fight on the back foot or take it to him. It depends what I see on the night. Hopefully he doesn't make a mistake because I'll catch him coming in. Or I'll catch him going back.
"Any heavyweight can knock out any heavyweight. In every fight, you want to make a statement and look good. This is an opportunity to finish in good fashion.
"There's one way that he fights - to apply pressure, to throw the bombs that he has. That's the style he has and it hasn't changed for a while."
Chisora promised: "The same thing I always deliver: war, craziness.
"He will get on his bike. Even if I challenge him [to meet me in the centre of the ring], he's not going to.
"But I can get to anybody. I'll just keep going. I'll eat leather but deliver some leather too."
Chisora's new trainer Buddy McGirt warned: "Our goal is to him everywhere except the bottom of his feet.
"We'll hit him on his hip, his thigh, but not low. We've got to slow him down. We will hit him everywhere.
"If we sit on the outside and wait for an opening? It will be Christmas already!"
Chris Eubank Jr said about his fight with Marcus Morrison: "This is a fight that gets me ready for the top level in the summer - then Gennadiy Golovkin at the end of the year. It has to happen.
"I've got Roy Jones Jr here with me, there's not much more a fighter needs!
"I'm ready to steal the show. I expect a showstopper. Everybody knows I put it on them.
"I don't think it will go 10 rounds. I'm going out there to try and stop [Morrison]. He won't have the abilities to keep me off."
His legendary trainer Jones Jr promised "Eubank Jr 2.0" and added: "I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel."
Eubank Jr's opponent Morrison warned: "I can out-box Chris and, when he doesn't get his own way, the old Chris Eubank Jr will revert back. At that point, the fans are in for a treat, big bombs will be let go. I can knock him out."
Campbell Hatton said before his second pro fight in Manchester, the city that his father Ricky had famous battles in: "I've watched the Kostya Tszyu fight 100 times and I want that for myself.
"It's a start. Down the line, I want the same things he had.
"I've got a good boxing brain. Last time my work was messy and I want to show more class this time."
His uncle and trainer Matthew Hatton added: "We want Campbell to be a star. If he wants to become a star he has to produce the goods."
Craig 'Spider' Richards said about challenging undefeated WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol: "The timing is right. I am more than comfortable - I've been in big 50-50 fights. I know what level I belong at. I'm beaten good names on the domestic scene and it's time to push on."
Watch Chisora v Parker and Taylor v Jonas on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, from 6pm. Book it via your Sky remote or book it online here. Non-Sky TV subscribers can book and watch it here.
