Boxing: Parker's opponent insists - 'I'm ready'

Joseph Parker. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Irineu Beato Costa Junior, Joseph Parker's opponent for Saturday's Fight for Life headline bout, has arrived a day late in Auckland but insists his travel drama, which saw him miss a connecting flight, won't count against him.

Costa Junior, a big Brazilian who at 1.92m will give away only a centimetre to Parker in height but will likely hold a weight advantage over his Kiwi opponent, arrived in Auckland early this morning. Weather conditions caused him to miss a connecting flight in Santiago, Chile, which put him back 24 hours.

It is all very similar to the build-up to his last fight, in Germany in October, his only loss in 16 professional bouts and at that stage his only fight outside South America. Costa Junior was outpointed over 12 rounds by Christian Hammer - no disgrace - until a look at the judges' scorecards confirmed he lost every round.

"It was a very long flight and [the fight was organised] at the last minute," Costa Junior said through an interpreter. "I arrived just before the fight and I wasn't feeling ready or right for the fight at all. I couldn't move very well... in the fight my defence wasn't good."

Asked how he would cope at Hamilton's Claudelands Arena after a similarly tough travel schedule, he replied: "This time I have arrived a couple of days before the fight. I have time to settle. I am already feeling good."

Time will tell whether that is the case, but in Costa Junior's advantage is the fact that he has sparred with 22-year-old Parker before - in Las Vegas last year, a brief match-up which will give him an insight into the South Aucklander's strengths.

Before his recent defeat in Niedersachsen, Germany, Costa Junior's 14 previous fights had all been held in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, with the exception of one in Rosario, Argentina.

With 13 knockouts among his 15 victories, Costa Junior, ranked 15th in the world by the WBO, has power, and some of that was on display for the television cameras in downtown Auckland today. However, while the training session was purely for show on the day he arrived, the form of the 34-year-old suggests he will be up against it against the faster, fitter and more skilful Parker.

Parker, undefeated in 11 professional bouts, also last fought in October, and it also went the distance, a unanimous victory over the durable Sherman Williams. He vowed to be only the second man to knock out Williams, who goes by the nickname 'Tank', but failed to achieve that goal, and it will be interesting to see his approach against Costa Junior, both during the build-up and on the night itself.

Parker, ranked the world's 10th best heavyweight by the WBA, is likely to show more respect for a powerful opponent in the prime of his career, but must know that once he weathers the first three rounds or so, his superior hand and foot speed should carry him to victory.