Joseph Parker will offer Anthony Joshua a serious test, warns trainer Peter Fury
Friday 27 May 2016 11:30, UK
Peter Fury was impressed by Joseph Parker's victory over Carlos Takam and believes the Kiwi is a genuine threat to Anthony Joshua.
Parker (19-0-KO16) dug deep to outpoint Cameroon's Takam and become mandatory challenger to Joshua's IBF world heavyweight title.
The Londoner must first defend against Dominic Breazeale on June 25 - live on Sky Sports Box Office - but Fury feels a greater challenge lies ahead.
He told Sky Sports: "It's a very good fight for both of them. It'll be the first time Joshua has fought someone similar to himself.
"Joshua needs to be very aware of Parker rather than the other way around. Parker is a serious test and is up there.
It's all part of the learning process and I thought Parker did very well. He can't do more than win the fight and he'll come on leaps and bounds.
"I think Parker is getting there. Takam was a tough fight and is a tough fight for anyone. It was a great learning fight for Parker because when these heavyweights step up, you see the weaknesses appear and the cracks open up.
"It's all part of the learning process and I thought Parker did very well. He can't do more than win the fight and he'll come on leaps and bounds. That's the type of fight he needed so it was a good win for him.
"He's not going in there and blowing Takam out. Even Anthony Joshua wouldn't blow Takam out because when you step up, you can't hit these fighters clean on the chin and sometimes you do and they come right back.
"Parker had a good fight, got a good win and paced it right. Takam was always going to be in the fight. Let's not forget that Takam fought on a high level for quite a while. If it was a banana skin, Parker came through it with flying colours and he'll go from strength to strength."
Fury is currently training his nephew - WBA Super and WBO heavyweight champion Tyson Fury - for his July 9 rematch with Wladimir Klitschko (64-4-KO53).
Providing an update from the Team Fury camp in Holland, he said: "Everything is going well. Tyson is training his b**** off and that's it. Everything is on target. We're just training very hard every day and looking forward to the fight.
"People can tune in to Periscope on Saturday with Tyson, because he's being given a very special award and we wanted people to see that live."
Watch Burns v Di Rocco and Bellew v Makabu this weekend - Saturday from 8pm and Sunday from 6.30pm respectively, live on Sky Sports 1. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
