THOUSANDS of boxing fans will descend on Cardiff this week to watch Anthony Joshua face New Zealander Joseph Parker.
Fans can still get tickets on resale. See Tickets has nearly 700 listed with prices ranging from £40 to £3,600. The fight is also available to watch on Sky Sports Pay Per View for £19.95.
The two boxers face off on Saturday night in Joshua’s second fight in seven months at the Principality Stadium, but there are plenty of events before that for Cardiffians to get their teeth into.
Fight Week countdown
Tuesday – press conference, 12.30pm
The two fighters face off in their final press conference before the bout today. Joshua, who has never engaged in pre-fight chat, has been aggravated by the Parker camp’s attempt to get under his skin.
Parker’s promoter David Higgins has talked a big fight punctuated by him saying that he and his fighter will leave this press conference if Joshua is late. The conference is sure to be intriguing and may well give a clue to who is best prepared for the fight on Saturday.
Wednesday – public workouts, 6pm
The heavyweights will step in to the ring to show off their skills tomorrow. The open workout will be the public’s first chance to see how the fighters have prepared.
Joshua has typically not given much away with these sessions, doing a short warm up and then hitting the pads for a few minutes. Parker, however has already posted training videos over social media and is more comfortable showing his hand.
Fighters on the undercard will also visit the ring with their trainers before their press conference the next day.
Thursday – undercard press conference, 12pm
The press will have a chance to scrutinise some of Britain’s best fighter on Thursday as the undercard is packed with British talent and strong personalities.
All Saturday’s undercard fighters will be there including David Price, Joe Cordina and fan favourite Anthony Crolla.
Friday – weigh-in 11am, Joshua v Parker expected at 1pm
Friday will see the two boxers face off for the last time before they fight on Saturday.
Joshua is two inches taller than Parker and is expected to come in the heavier. However, he has said that he is not bulking before the fight and therefore might be lighter than the 18 stone he was for his last fight against Carlos Takam.
The undercard fighters will also hit the scales before their bouts.
Saturday – Fight Night, 6pm
Welshman Morgan Jones opens the event at 6pm. The main fight will start no later than 10.30pm.
Undercard
Morgan Jones v Mose Auimatagi Jnr (super middleweight – 6×3 mins)
Joe Cordina v Andy Townend (lightweight – 10×3 mins)
Anthony Crolla v Edson Ramirez (lightweight – 10×3 mins)
Josh Kelly v Carlos Molina (welterweight – 10×3 mins)
Ryan Burnett v Yonfrez Parejo (WBA world bantamweight – 12 x 3 mins)
Alexander Povetkin v David Price (heavyweight 12 x 3 mins)
Main event
Anthony Joshua v Joseph Parker
(WBA super and IBF & WBO world heavyweight titles – 12 x 3 mins)
