Anthony Joshua

In every possible way, the 26-year-old boxer from the south Auckland suburb of Mangere is ready to dance and defy the odds in a world heavyweight title unification bout with British superstar Anthony Joshua.

As fit and fast as ever, mentally locked in and, perhaps most importantly, in a composed, confident and relaxed state of mind.

In the words of Parker himself, no stone has been left unturned in pursuit of what bookmakers are suggesting would be a huge upset victory against a powerful and physically imposing opponent.

Punctuation is the subject of Team Parker's latest statement of intent, with promoter David Higgins insisting they not be sitting around waiting for Joshua at the final pre-fight press conference.

The Englishman has a penchant for showing up late to some obligations and if that happens at the event scheduled for noon on Tuesday in London (midnight NZ time), it appears Joshua will be on his own.

WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion Joshua meets WBO title-holder Parker at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

It will be Briton Joshua's fourth stadium bout but, with 80,000 fans expected, represents a new level of interest for New Zealand's Parker.

"It took me a few times to get used to it," Joshua told BBC Radio 5 live.

"It's an experience he hasn't faced yet. It is daunting, it is overwhelming.

Unbeaten champions Joshua and Parker will unify their WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO belts on April 1 (NZ time) at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Joshua says one defeat should not define a fighter, but every unbeaten boxer still goes into the ring with the fear of losing.

Speaking to Sky Sports UK eight days out from the highly anticipated fight, Joshua said he is focused on the bout and is open to what a potential loss could mean for his career.

English superstar Joshua is a healthy favourite to prevail when he meets New Zealand fighter Parker in their world heavyweight title unification bout in Cardiff on Easter Sunday (NZ time).

Many believe the WBA and IBF champion will be too powerful for the WBO belt holder from South Auckland, referencing the fact all 20 wins on Joshua's perfect professional record have come via knockout.

Quartarone has refereed a world heavyweight title fight before, being in charge of Alexander Povetkin's WBA title victory over Cedric Boswell in 2011.

"We're very happy with the officials that have been appointed," Barry told Sky Sports.

"We've got three judges - one from New Zealand, one from the UK, one from the United States.

"We've got an Italian referee. We signed off on those officials [at the beginning of March]. We're very happy with what the various sanctioning bodies have appointed for us."

While much of the pre-fight hype has surrounded Joshua's power, it’s Parker's speed that has his boxing trainer confident of a knock-out win.

Speaking to Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE, Barry revealed fans should expect a much faster, but no less powerful, Parker in Wales.

"More movement and faster feet…that’s something that we’ve worked on this whole training camp from our flexibility work to our strength and conditioning work, boxing work to our road work," said Barry.

Between them the three fighters own the four major belts in the sport's glamour division, with Joshua holding the WBA and IBF crowns, Parker the WBO and Wilder the WBC.

With 20 knockouts from a perfect 20-0 professional record, Joshua is favoured to continue that march and add another belt to his collection when he and Parker square off in a much-anticipated unification bout in Cardiff on April 1 (NZ time).

The Kiwi heavyweight has used the cruel jibe from British talk show host Graham Norton and picked up by Joshua as motivation for his preparations for their world heavyweight unification fight.

WBO champion Parker tangles with WBA and IBF champion Joshua in Cardiff on April 1 (NZT) and the 26-eyar-old is determined to be in the shape of his life.

Five weeks into his Las Vegas training camp, the signs are promising with Parker quickly losing weight and regaining his trademark speed.

That is the view of British compatriot Amir Khan, who said the heavyweight star needed to raise his profile in the US to become a "global star".

Khan has fought several times in the States, most recently against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in Las Vegas, where the Mexican scored a sixth-round knockout in May 2016.

But it was a big-money bout for Khan and brought with it the kind of attention that he feels Joshua – who faces Joseph Parker on March 31 in Cardiff – would easily attract if he showed off his skills for a stateside audience.