Wynne Gray: Lords of ring set to capture our attention again

WBO Champion of the World and New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker. Photo / Photosport

Dig past your prejudices and ignore the well-worn channel button on the remote. What's the buzz been from your sporting buddies about their greatest sporting curiosity over Easter?

Are they keenly tuned to New Zealand's chances of nailing the test cricket series with England, did they seize on the derby Super Rugby clash in Hamilton or how the Hurricanes measured off against the leading Australian side or will they zero in on the Warriors push to stay unbeaten against the Roosters?

All those contests will get ample eyeball time but when the holiday weekend starts to close I'd wager the greatest attraction will be on the other side of the globe where Joseph Parker and Anthony Joshua slug it out for the heavyweight boxing crown.

Anyone with a skerrick of interest in sport away from Australian cricket's self-inflicted pain, will have some plan around buying a television package, listening to radio updates or monitoring the live updates at nzherald.co.nz of the undefeated heavyweights duking it out in Cardiff.

It's a massive occasion for Parker and his entourage and a rare fascination for Kiwis with an almost tangible connection to the world of boxing and its mysterious rewards.

As long as you like a duel laden with nationalism, you don't need to know a left jab from a right cross to be drawn into the showdown in Cardiff. Parker has taken New Zealand and the Pacific to the global apex of heavyweight boxing where his ambassador package of punching power and softly-spoken manners has grabbed our support. We are along for this ride because we like what he brings through the television lens.

Not that I think he can win even with his tough jaw, speed, fitness and elbows free of bone chips after recent surgery. He's undefeated but recent laboured wins are a worry while pundits point to both boxers' recent struggles against Carlos Takam.

Joshua has a height and reach advantage, he's won every fight by knockout and is used to the pulsating noise of an 80,000 throng and while fight analysts dismiss any advantage for him through the judges but boxing can't shrug that home-soil perception.

His focus must be sharpened by the promise of greater riches around the corner with offers of a unification fight against Deontay Wilder or a UFC contract of almost $700m. Tell me Joshua is not switched on.

His physique is impressive and Parker looks more honed so the difference may not be the reach or the skip in their footwork but how each man's body responds to their mental fatigue.