The one thing everyone will tell you about Joseph Parker is he’s 'nice'.
When you see him, you get a big smile and a warm handshake/hug. He makes you feel like the only person in the room.
He’s almost impossible not to like.
And it’s good for people to be nice, but it doesn’t win you big fights against a monster like Anthony Joshua.
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Some controlled anger in the ring would do Parker the world of good.
That’s why I like the way Anthony Joshua has been mouthing off in the build-up to Sunday's world title unification bout.
He’s called him weird, he’s called Parker’s team backstabbers and he's refused to shake Parker's hand. On Wednesday, he reiterated Graham Norton’s statement that he’s the 'King of the Pies'.
The more reasons Joe has to dislike this guy, the more sting there should be in his knockout punch. That could be vital, considering Joshua has shown he can get up off the canvas and then knock out a great opponent.
Parker hasn’t thrown any punches in anger so far in his career. He didn’t need to against the early bunnies, or the likes of Takam or Ruiz. There’s never been anything said in press conferences to anger him.
Every press conference I’ve been to has been respectful.
That’s good, that’s Joe, but I’m sure this time, behind the scenes, he won’t be happy.
This is the first time he’s ever really been in the firing line from an opponent.
That's good. If you don’t like someone, you want to knock them out for yourself, as well as for the win.
It'll help him go in for the kill.
If Wladimir Klitschko had that killer instinct Joshua wouldn’t even have the belts now. He had his chance to win, but didn’t have the 'Eye of the Tiger', so to speak.
In a blood sport, it helps to smell blood.
Ross Karl is boxing editor for Newshub.
