Joseph Parker

“I enjoy the pain my body goes through. If you're in a hard moment in a fight, there's a lot of things go through your mind. But the most important thing to me is family.”

“It's important to pursue the career that we want and the titles that we want to get, but there's family time.”

“I know that there is failure, but if you're prepared, you can accept whatever happens in the ring.”

“It's a quality you need to be a world champion; you have to have that killer instinct.”

“I know if I train hard, focus, I can beat anyone out there.”

“I did more weight training for Dimitrenko - we saw the big difference in sparring: everything felt stronger; it felt like the movement was much better. We were able to execute the plan in the Dimitrenko fight.”

“I back my power, and I back my chin, and I back my speed.”

“When you take a break from something you love doing, you just feel like it's time to get back into it; you feel like you've been missing out on something.”

“I feel like the guitar playing gives me rhythm with my punches - really helps to change up my jab.”

“It feels good that people believe in my ability, but you've just got to stay focused, keep your feet on the ground, and do the job and do the hard work in the gym.”

“The world should have one champion.”

“As an amateur, there are three rounds, and you have to give it all you have, throw as many punches as you can.”

“I've put my degree on hold, but I will finish it.”

“Different refs judge fights differently.”

“Every man who gets in that ring has the ability to hurt you.”

“You've got to be humble; you've got to be nice to everyone. But when you're in the ring, that's the time to let your fists do the talking, and that's the time for action.”

“I made the New Zealand team, won medals around the world. I thought, 'I'm blessed. I've got a good talent.' I had no idea, though, how good I might be. But I loved the sport.”

“When I first started off, a lot of people didn't know who we were or what we're doing, but now you can see a big difference, and everyone is behind us.”

“There are good life skills to be had in the sport. It is a big positive to see young kids coming to the gym, training hard, looking up to the likes of David Tua, Shane Cameron, and possibly myself.”

“It was surprising how many kids don't have lunches. If we all get behind this cause, it'll help a lot of the kids out there who don't really get enough food.”