Anthony Joshua set for unification title fight in Cardiff
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joshuas camp had made much of just how seriously the 28-year-old was taking training his obsession with shedding the pounds and how that had been paying off in his ringcraft and training1 a leaner and lighter anthony joshua weighed in some six pounds heavier than joseph parker on friday for the battle of the undefeated heavyweight world champions in cardiff1 joshua the reigning wba ibf and ibo world champion is also taller and with a six inch reach advantage over parker who will be bringing his wbo belt to the principality stadium for saturday nights unification fight1 the briton had stepped into the ring against cameroonian-french opponent carlos takam in cardiff last october for a defence he won in 10 rounds at a career-high 18 stones and two pounds1 ive been running well training well said the 2012 olympic champion who has a 20-0 record with all his fights won by knockout1 losing that little bit of extra weight has made things that little bit easier1 i feel betterif everything goes to plan youll see ill be a lot sharper and my reactions and timing will be a lot better the briton told the crowd1 the briton tipped the scales at 17 stones four pounds and two ounces at the weigh-in attended by a crowd of more than 4000 compared to the new zealanders 16 stones 12 pounds and seven ounces1 parker 24-0 took it as a compliment ahead of what will be the biggest fight of his career with an 80000-strong crowd expected through the doors on saturday1 it makes me think that hes taking this fight really seriously hes trained very hard he said after standing face to face and staring into the eyes of his opponent for the last time before they meet in the ring1 hes in good shape im in good shape. theres not much of a weight difference which is good. were both going to be fast for tomorrow night were both going to move well and throw some big bombs1 parker said he saw confidence in joshuas eyes and was ready for anything1 im here for a good fight im here for war he declared. youre going to have to give me everything to beat mehes got a bigger crowd but that doesnt matter that doesnt faze us1 saturdays fight will bring the heavyweight title a step closer to undisputed status and put the focus even more on american deontay wilder who holds the wbc crown and is undefeated in 401