As expected, Joseph Parker has received advice from Tyson Fury on how to defeat upcoming opponent Deontay Wilder.
Fury has face Wilder on three occasions – in 2018, 2020 and 2021. They went to a draw in the first encounter, with Wilder suffering stoppage defeats in the next two. Fury knows the danger involved, as he was knocked down four times in the trilogy series.
On December 23 in Saudi Arabia, Parker will face Wilder in a high-stakes battle between former world champions.
Fury and Parker are close friends and share team members like trainer Andy Lee.
“Tyson was able to give me some advice and some knowledge on fighting Deontay Wilder,” Parker told Talk Sport.
“The only difference is I’m not 6ft 9in with the longest reach, so whatever my strengths are I have to use them to the best of my ability. He has given me a few pointers and advice and he’s actually helped me with sparring so anytime I have needed Tyson’s help, he’s always been there, so thanks to him for always making time to help me, especially for this camp and this fight coming up.”
Wilder is only one fight removed from the third meeting with Fury – with only a single round of action since 2021. On the other hand, Parker is taking part in his fourth fight of the year – after recovering from last year’s knockout loss at the hands Joe Joyce.
“I feel it’s very important to be active because you’re always working, you’re always progressing, always getting better,” Parker explained.
“You’re working on your ringcraft, technique, skills, you’re not trying to get in shape because you’re already in shape.
“I think with Wilder having that long time off, we’ll soon see if he has that thing called ring rust which I know a lot of fighters do have when they haven’t fought for a long time.”