Boxing

It is an alignment which Duco Events will seek regardless of whether Parker wins or loses his world heavyweight title fight against Ruiz Jr at Auckland's Vector Arena on December 10.

Barry rates Parker's oppponent American Andy Ruiz as the favourite for the December 10th fight and believes Ruiz has better hand speed than his charge.

But Parker who has just returned from a training camp in Las Vegas said he will prove Barry wrong.

"Andy does have fast hands but I believe I am faster. I'll prove Kevin wrong come fight night that I will be the faster fighter. Kevin did say that Andy was the favourite but he didn't say I was going to lose...this is my time."

This will be Parker's fifth fight of the year but he believes he is in good shape.

Joseph Parker has a much better "total package" than Andy Ruiz and is favored to win their WBO heavyweight title fight.

That's the opinion of Dan Rafael, one of the world's most respected boxing writers who works for ESPN.

Rafael was speaking in Las Vegas with an eager eye on the historic title fight in Auckland on December 10.

The well-connected Rafael has been a keen follower of Parker since he came under the tutelage of Vegas-based New Zealand trainer Kevin Barry.

Under Bob Arum, Top Rank Boxing has guided the careers of the likes of Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Manny Pacquaiao, Floyd Mayweather and George Foreman.

Matchmaker Bruce Trampler said that Parker is a talent it couldn't pass up.

"We would love to be involved with Joseph Parker," he said.

"There are not too many Joseph Parkers' in the world, and you have to rank him as one of the best young heavyweights in the world."

Klitschko has a minor injury which he suffered in training and the fight has now been postponed until next year.

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn announced this morning that with the Ukranian sidelined and with no decision made over whether the WBA title would be on the line, the fight could not happen on the date suggested.

"We've been in deep negotiations for a few weeks now waiting on the decision from the WBA," Hearn said.

He was born and raised in South Auckland and said one of his biggest achievements was winning a bronze medal for Tonga in the super heavyweight division at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

He's best known for being the man who stopped Parker from going to the 2012 London Olympics and of their four amateur encounters, the pair have won two each.

But instead of following the same path as Parker, Fa decided to get a job and start a family.

Fa and Parker have history, splitting their four amateur fights two each, and momentum is slowly building behind the prospect of the pair eventually squaring off in the pro ranks.

Born and raised in South Auckland, Fa attended two Commonwealth Games with Tonga before taking three years out of the sport to have a family.

Solomon Haumono portrayed himself as 'Rocky' while Joseph Parker played 'Apollo Creed' in a promotional clip before their heavyweight clash, and the cinematic connection may soon get another chapter.

The identity of Parker's next opponent is due to be revealed by promoter Duco Events on Tuesday.

Athletes from Fiji, Jordan, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Zambia will be present among the 250 male boxers who are due to compete at the Games following a decision made by the Olympic Tripartite Commission.

Featuring input from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), the Commission is designed to provide smaller National Olympic Committees (NOCs) with the opportunity to compete at Olympic Games.

The Police Media Unit told the Daily Post the man from Paama died around 2am Friday at the Correctional Center in Port Vila. At this stage the cause of death is not clear and the police are investigating to find out how and where the man died.