A KIWI journalist at a Thursday press conference announcing Joseph Parker’s upcoming fight against Carlos Takam was crude but accurate.
“S***’s just about to get real,” the journo said. “Are you ready for this?”
The New Zealand heavyweight prospect laughed. “Bring it on, man,” he said. “I was born for this.”
We’re about to find out. To this point of his career the exciting powerpuncher from South Auckland has been developing his skills and showing off his fast hands against outmatched or veteran opponents.
The results have been predictable: KO after KO after KO.
But in agreeing to fight Takam, a 35-year-old Cameroonian based in France, Parker will take a huge step up in quality.
“This is one very mean, very physical, very powerful fighter. I’ve studied a lot of tape on him. He’s a very big, strong guy who is going to be one helluva test for Joe,” Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry said.
“We’ll find out just how much Joseph Parker has learned in the past three years.”
David Haye, the former WBA heavyweight champion who has recently made a comeback, has sparred with Takam and rates him as a dangerous foe.
“Carlos Takam was a sparring partner I had over for two months,” Haye told Boxing News 24 earlier this month. “I used him before I fought (Dereck) Chisora. I think he’s bigger, stronger, better punch variety, a better puncher, and a better chin than Chisora. He’s like a third times better version than Chisora.”
Riding on the outcome of the fight is a shot at the IBF belt currently held by American Charles Martin.
After 10 years on the shelf of Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF title has been passed around like a hot potato in recent months.
Tyson Fury is the rightful owner after upsetting Klitscko in November last year. But he refused to fight the IBF’s mandatory challenger, Vyacheslav Glazkov, so the organisation stripped him of the belt and set up a fight between Glazkov and Martin for the vacant title.
Glazkov injured his knee in the third round of that fight to hand the belt to Martin, who is scheduled to defend it against British star Anthony Joshua in April.
It creates the possibility of Parker and Joshua — two extremely talented albeit largely untested fighters who are seen as the future of the heavyweight division — meeting in a dream match-up this year.
Forgive us for reserving our excitement about that fight until the contracts are signed (don’t be surprised if Joshua wins the title but then dodges the Parker-Takam winner in favour of a big money fight against Fury or David Haye).
But regardless of what happens between Joshua and Martin — and what Joshua does afterwards — Parker now appears guaranteed a title shot if he can beat Takam.
“I remember when I was four or five years old, I was at my home and my Dad was on his knees holding up his hands, and I was punching his hands,” Parker said.
“At that time I thought to myself, one day I want to be the world champion. This next fight is going to get us that much closer to achieving that goal and fulfilling that dream I had as a young boy.”
The fight is likely Takam’s last roll of the dice at a world title. He was on track to earn a shot after shading Mike Perez in a majority draw in 2014 and then outpointing Tony Thompson.
But a devastating, knockout of the year-contending defeat against Alexander Povetkin forced him to take a step back.
Takam has begun to rebuild his career with three consecutive wins on European soil but he’ll venture to Christchurch to face Parker.
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