Las Vegas boxer Joseph Parker eyes upset of Anthony Joshua

Joseph Parker left New Zealand for Las Vegas four years ago to get away from the Down Under spotlight.

Parker, the WBO heavyweight champion, is a rock star in the land of the Kiwis. His poorly executed Haka dance with Tyson Fury after Parker’s victory over Hughie Fury in September was a top story in New Zealand and England.

“They called it the worst Haka ever,” a smiling Parker said last month at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Parker, 26, has stayed focused since moving in with trainer Kevin Barry in Henderson. He won the vacant world title against Andy Ruiz in 2016 and parlayed it for a massive unification bout with British star Anthony Joshua, the WBA and IBF heavyweight titleist.

Joshua (20-0, 20 knockouts) and Parker (24-0, 18 KOs) will fight at 2 p.m. Saturday on a Showtime-televised main event in front of 70,000-plus fans at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Parker is a plus 450 underdog and Joshua a minus 650 favorite at the Westgate sports book.

“I’ve wanted the fight for a long time, but this is the perfect time to have the fight,” Parker said. “One, we’re both undefeated, and two, there’s titles on the line, so it means something.

“There are a few moments where you stop and you pinch yourself, like, hey, I am involved in this fight, this is real. As a fighter from New Zealand, we don’t have a lot of fighters and we don’t have a lot fighters who make it big.”

Parker said he enjoys training in Las Vegas because the heat helps him burn weight faster and he gets to face quality opponents during sparring. Parker weighed in at 236½ pounds Friday and Joshua at 242¼ pounds.

The New Zealand native will need to be in his best shape to defeat Joshua, 28, regarded by many as the best heavyweight. The boxing world is hoping for a Joshua-Deontay Wilder bout in the near future, but Parker wants to prevent that from happening with an upset victory.

Parker sees weaknesses in Joshua, who hit the canvas against Wladimir Klitschko last year before rallying.

“I see the stamina problems he had,” said Parker, who excels in throwing fast combinations. “I could do a lot better than what Klitschko did. I knew if I hurt him I’d try my best to take him out of there, but the thing I respect about him is he showed heart of a champion getting up off the ground.”

Crawford-Horn update

The Terence Crawford-Jeff Horn welterweight title fight will be rescheduled for June 9 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Top Rank announced this week.

Crawford sustained a hand injury during sparring, causing the bout to be moved from April 14.

Ticket information for the ESPN-televised bout weren’t announced.

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Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.