The only obvious signs of the lessons learned by Joseph Parker on Saturday after he put himself on the brink of a world heavyweight title fight were slight puffiness under his left eye and a thin red line, as if drawn by pencil, visible through his closely cropped hair above his left ear.
There will be intangible ones, though, in terms of self-belief and the knowledge that the 24-year-old has a fair bit to learn yet, that will stand him in good stead for when he eventually challenges for the IBF title.
As his trainer Kevin Barry said, this was a reality check. The important thing was that he passed it, with the judges rightfully giving him a unanimous decision over Carlos Takam, who looked in the driver's seat in the fifth round but who couldn't put his foot on the gas when it counted.
![New Zealand Heavyweight Joseph Parker trains with trainer Kevin Barry. Photo / Nick Reed](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/DUIB5XVDJAWMYZDCVT2XIQOCIA.jpg?auth=d11b9c2a6ba6907d196cf80db25369ab0226d23c2bd235e3ea2ec677ba821fc5&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
"It was his first encounter of competition from the elite level," Barry said of Parker.