JOSEPH PARKER swapped the Las Vegas lights for Tyson Fury’s coastal hometown of Morecambe after switching training camps.
Parker faces Derek Chisora in a heavyweight headliner on Saturday night, but does so under a new trainer.
The former WBO champion dropped long-time coach Kevin Barry following his laboured win over Junior Fa in February.
And following the advice of close friend Fury, Parker hired Andy Lee, who was part of the Gypsy King’s camp for their win over Deontay Wilder last year.
Parker told the Daily Star: “I thought about Tyson and the changes he has made in trainers so I sent him a text and asked if I could ask him some questions.
“He gave me a call, he said he really rates Andy in the top three trainers he has worked with.
“With the names he has worked with, that is a great recommendation.
“The next thing I was on Zoom calls with Andy, three or four calls later we were starting to make this plan and six days later I was on a plane flying to Ireland, so things happened really quick.
“There was nothing wrong with the old camp, I just needed something different.”
Parker, 29, started his camp in Dublin and even stayed with Lee’s in-laws on his first ever visit to the Emerald Isle.
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But he then spent a few weeks with Fury at the WBC champ’s new facility attached to Morecambe FC’s stadium.
Parker said: “Tyson trains very hard, I thought that my level was high – well it is high – but when I trained alongside Tyson I could see the difference.
“Andy said it was a great move just to be around the energy that he has, just to see how he works.
“I did some body sparring with Tyson, he did 15 rounds one day, he is a beast. There’s something about him, his energy, it lifts you.”
Fury, 32, is now out in Vegas himself as he prepares for a proposed undisputed title decider with Anthony Joshua, 31.
Oleksandr Usyk, 34, is currently Joshua’s WBO mandatory challenger but the Brit has been given an acceptation to instead fight in a unification.
Parker is hoping a win over Chisora, 37, puts him in line to face Usyk for the vacant title if the opportunity arises.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
