Joshua To Spar With Takam For Parker Fight

Anthony Joshua wants to spar with Carlos Takam to smoothen his skills for his upcoming world heavyweight title clash with Joseph Parker.

It’s a rare privilege given that Takam was Joshua’s last victim, beaten by TKO after 10 rugged rounds in  October.

Joshua is waiting to increasethe intensity levels of his sparring work for the fight with Parker in Cardiff on  March 31  where he puts his IBF and WBA belts on the line along with the Kiwi’s WBO title.

Takam is the one common foe the two fighters share over their unbeaten professional careers.

Parker won a 12-round unanimous points decision against Takam in 2016, a result that signalled the Kiwi’s claims as a world title contender.

The unexpected late move suggests all is not well at Joshua’s training camp in Sheffield where he has a stable of sparring partners trying to replicate Parker’s style.

“AJ doesn’t want to spar someone who is not on a world level, AJ wants someone who is competitive,” Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told TalkSport.

Hearn doesn’t usually get involved in organising sparring partners but is using his relationship with Takam’s management to try to sort out the deal on the insistence of Joshua’s trainer Rob McCracken.

“There’s so much at stake and it’s such a high level, this is so important,” Hearn said.

“Poor sparring can lead to negativity and we can’t afford to leave one stone unturned in a camp like this, for a fight like this.”

Hearn revealed there had been some hesitancy from the Takam camp as they want their fighter to remain in the title mix rather than be someone elses punching bag.

But Hearn suggested they should take the offer as a compliment rather than an insult.

“It’s a compliment that AJ has six or seven sparring partners but has said ‘I want Takam because I believe that’s a great spar, he can give me great work’,” Hearn said.

Takam hasn’t fought since his loss to Joshua but is in talks to take on Britain’s Derek Chisora in May.

Hearn is looking to broker that deal and may be able to use that as a bit of leverage to get Takam in the training ring with Joshua.

Parker, meanwhile, continues to look fitter and stronger as he buries himself into his training in Las Vegas.