'I'll take him down' — Joseph Parker, Junior Fa trade verbal jabs with fight nearing

Joseph Parker and Junior Fa are both heading towards this weekend's boxing bout full of confidence after trading verbal jabs at a press conference today.

Parker and Fa face off this Saturday at Spark Arena in Auckland but got things going early with some fighting words today.

"There's no secret that going into a fight, a fighter wants a knockout. That's what I'm going to be looking for," Parker said. "I think that's what he's going to be looking for too. But I know that I possess the power to knock him out.

"That's my plan. That's what I want to do … [Round] one, two, three, four, five, six – I want to get him early."

Fa wasn't shy either, making his intentions known too.

"I can beat him," Fa replied when asked if he can knock Parker out. "If I hurt him I'll take him down.

"I feel much better than my old self a few months ago. I'm feeling fully prepared for this fight. I feel like I'm peaking at the right time. I'm just feeling good. I'm getting excited ... I can't wait for the night.

"He has strengths, he has weaknesses. I have strengths, I have weaknesses. I feel like I can figure him out. I feel like we have a good plan that I can execute on the night to make sure that I come out on top."

The build-up to the clash between the two rivals has been drawn out after their initial fight date was pushed back due to an issue in Fa's camp.

That delay proved to also be a blessing for Parker, who revealed in January he had surgery on his elbows to relieve him of pain before returning to training.

With both now in their prime, they agree there should be fireworks on Saturday.

"The good thing about the postponement is that we're both at 100 per cent now," Parker said. 

"He was able to take care of his health issues and I was able to take care of my elbows.

"There's no excuses. Come Saturday when we fight, we're both at 100 per cent and whoever wins is the best in New Zealand."