David Haye says Joseph Parker looks “cool and calm” but warned the New Zealander that he is facing an “absolute monster” in Anthony Joshua.
The former world champion has allowed Parker to use his London-based gym ahead of this Saturday’s unification clash with Joshua in Cardiff, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Haye has been impressed with Parker’s composed mindset before the biggest fight of his career at the Principality Stadium.
“I’ve seen Joseph Parker in preparation for this huge, huge night at the weekend with Joshua, arguably the No 1 in the division,” Haye told Sky Sports.
“He seems cool, he seems calm, he seems focused. His weight looks good, his team are very comfortable. The gym is two minutes away.
“Everything behind the scenes in Team Parker seems calm, seems confident, and I’m expecting a very, very good fight.”
But Joshua has swiftly undermined the confident mood of past opponents, winning all 20 fights by knockout, and Haye admits that Parker cannot fully appreciate the threat posed by AJ until the first bell rings.
“Everybody has an idea, everybody is confident that they have the key to beat Anthony Joshua, and every single person who has tried, has ended up unconscious,” said Haye.
“Twenty fights, twenty knockouts, and every single person going into the fight – they believed they had the key.
“He can’t take a punch, or I’m too fast, or he’s too slow.
“Everyone has got a reason why they believe they are going to win, but he seems to have the solutions, the answers to everybody, including Wladimir Klitschko, who once again said that he’s got too much experience.
“When he lands his right hand he’ll knock him out. It didn’t happen. It landed, he put Joshua down. Joshua was able to get back up and show great recovery skills to come back and force an 11th-round stoppage.
“It’s easy to say that from the outside, but when you’re in there, Anthony Joshua is an absolute monster of a man. The reality of Anthony Joshua, once he starts punching the face, gets real pretty quick.”
