Kiwi Joseph Parker and Joe Joyce have exchanged a few early blows of the verbal variety, as they build towards their WBO interim heavyweight world championship showdown at Manchester on September 25 (NZ time).
The pair have squared off in the patented face-to-face interview for BT Sport, trading light-hearted quips like jabs to set the scene for their main-event clash at the AO Arena.
Parker fended off Joyce's barbs about his perceived "ducking" of his new opponent, accusing Joyce's camp of causing the lengthy delay with the bout's confirmation.
"He's finally found his pen," remarked Joyce.
"You guys haven't had a signed contract, that's why I haven't been here," Parker replied. "It's finally signed today.
"You sound exactly like a duck."
After saying he'd "box the head off" Joyce, Parker pointed to the Brit's early troubles against Christian Hammer in his most recent July bout, where he took early shots, but rebounded to score a fourth-round technical knockout.
"Listen, I'm faster than Hammer and he got clipped," Parker said, pointing at Joyce.
"It's not one shot, I'm going to damage him with a lot of shots. Punches in bunches, that's what I need to do.
"Break him down, step by step, round by round," he added, while Joyce mockingly pretended to take notes.
The South Aucklander also questioned Joyce over his insistence on a rematch clause - a provision he claimed he hadn't pressed for during negotiations for the bout.
Riding high from his comprehensive decision win over Derek Chisora in December, Parker insisted he was now a completely different proposition for any opponent, since relocating to the UK to work with famous trainer Andy Lee, who boasts heavyweight champion Tyson Fury as his most famous student.
"I'm not that fighter anymore who's going to box and move, and rely on just movement and avoiding shots," he said. "I want to mix it up.
"A lot of people are saying I've had my time and I'm on the downward path, but I feel like I've got a lot to give and I've only just begun in this second phase of my career."
Meanwhile, Joyce is on a different trajectory to his opponent, who has already climbed to the mountaintop once, courtesy of his WBO heavyweight title triumph over Andy Ruiz Jr in 2016.
"It's the best fight out there," said Joyce. "He's been to the top of the mountain and he's a very tough, rugged guy, so it's definitely the right progression to fight him to go to the next level."
Despite being six years older, Joyce, 36, has only 14 professional fights to his name, compared to Parker's 32, although he's yet to taste defeat. Parker, 30, has been beaten twice, but not since 2018, when he lost his WBO title to Anthony Joshua and was then edged by Dillian Whyte four months later.
Parker is no stranger to the big stage, but insisted his clash with Joyce will be his most difficult test yet.
"This will be the hardest fight," he said. "Every fight is a hard fight, but when you have someone with this determination to be champion of the world, highly ranked and with all of those strengths about him, it's going to be a really tough challenge."
But Parker didn't mince his words when giving his prediction for the outcome of the bout directly to his adversary.
"I'm going to beat you up and get you out of there."
Join us for live updates of the world heavyweight title clash between Joseph Parker and Joe Joyce on Sunday, September 25
