Former WBO heavyweight Kiwi champion Joseph Parker has responded to British superstar boxer Anthony Joshua's remarks, of wishing he had "knocked him out" earlier this month in their unification bout in Cardiff, Wales.
At a meet and greet in London with boxing fans in a shoe store, Joshua said he didn't want to go head hunting like in his past fights against Parker, with defeat weighing heavy on his mind.
"When people were telling me, 'Parker is quick you know, he can fight,' I was thinking, 'He can, I'm going to get banged out in this fight'," he said.
"For 20 fights I catered for the knockout audience and I said for this one (Parker) I'm going to cater for the boxing experts, stick behind my jab and do it the old school way," said Joshua.
"And as important as it was to capture the WBO belt, looking back I wish I knocked him out. But then it's set up what's to come next and I'm learning on the job and I'm going to risk it all now."
Parker poked fun of Joshua's remarks this afternoon on Twitter.
"Acting like the knockout was an option," tweeted Parker.
The Kiwi heavweight was the first fighter in Joshua's 21-bout professional career to go the distance, with Parker losing by unanimous decision in front of a sold-out 80,000 crowd at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on April 1.
Joshua is now looking to set up a fight with WBC American champion Deontay Wilder to unify the final belt in the heavyweight division.
SHARE ME