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Joshua laughs off Parker's drug taunts

Julian GUYER, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/01/17/011718-aj.jpg"/><figcaption>Anthony Joshua during the press conference. Andrew Couldridge, Action Images via Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>LONDON -- Britain&#x27;s Anthony Joshua dismissed a claim by New Zealand&#x27;s Joseph Parker he is the &quot;king of steroids&quot; ahead of their world heavyweight title unification bout.The two boxers will meet in Cardiff on March 31, with Joshua, a London 2012 Olympic gold medallist, looking to add Parker&#x27;s World Boxing Organisation title to the World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organisation belts he already holds.Whoever wins at the 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium, best known for staging Wales rugby union internationals, will be eyeing a bout with World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. After his fight with Joshua was confirmed on Sunday, Parker gave an interview to New Zealand&#x27;s Radio Sport in which he said: &quot;They call me the king of pies, but I call him the king of steroids.&quot;But Joshua, speaking to newswire reporters at London&#x27;s Dorchester Hotel on Tuesday, said the &quot;pies&quot; jibe was the work of British television chat show host Graham Norton and dismissed Parker&#x27;s allegations of drug use.&quot;I&#x27;ve heard so much in boxing trash talk that nothing&#x27;s new anymore,&quot; Joshua said.&quot;Can I sue him?&quot; he asked to laughter from reporters.&quot;I know my records are clean,&quot; insisted the 28-year-old Englishman. &quot;That&#x27;s why I don&#x27;t bite at it. &quot;It is what it is. If I&#x27;m not clean, you&#x27;ll find out this fight. If I haven&#x27;t been clean for all my other fights, you&#x27;ll see me struggle against Parker because anything I have been taking will be out of my system.&quot;&quot;Trash talk has a place in boxing if it&#x27;s natural but you shouldn&#x27;t use it as a tool to sell the fight. I would never put on an act to sell a fight.&quot;The issue of drugs in heavyweight boxing has been thrown into sharp relief by the case of Britain&#x27;s former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. <div>- &#x27;Life on the line&#x27; -</div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/01/17/011718-aj-2.jpg"/><figcaption>Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker go head to head during the press conference. Andrew Couldridge, Action Images via Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>Last month Fury, who has repeatedly taunted Joshua, agreed a compromise with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) over his positive test for the banned steroid nandrolone that led to him receiving a two-year ban backdated to December 2015. The 29-year-old has not fought since being crowned world champion with his shock victory against Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, &quot;In this sport, your life&#x27;s on the line. Anything to do with that type of stuff you have to be careful,&quot; said Joshua. &quot;People&#x27;s lives are on the line, it&#x27;s not like a game of golf.&quot;Both Joshua and Parker will be putting their unbeaten professional records as well as their titles on the line.Parker&#x27;s camp suggested Joshua has a weak chin, pointing out that he was knocked down by Wladimir Klitschko last year, before getting off the canvas to be crowned world champion. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/boxing/news/2018/01/10/nonito-donaire-jr-versus-carl-frampton-official-april-35882">READ: Nonito Donaire Jr. versus Carl Frampton official for April</a></li></ul><div>- &#x27;Walk with faith&#x27; -</div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/01/17/011718-parker.jpg"/><figcaption>Joseph Parker during the press conference. Andrew Couldridge, Action Images via Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>But Joshua told a broadcast news conference at the Dorchester Hotel in London on Tuesday: &quot;It will take more than a human to stop me getting where I&#x27;m destined to be.&quot;That&#x27;s why I learned to not walk with sight, I walk with faith in this journey so in terms of you, using it as a PR stunt and the rumours you have heard, they are fake news,&quot; he added.&quot;Three times I&#x27;ve been hurt or stopped. What I have learnt from those adversities and storms, it will take more than any human to stop me from this journey.&quot;Joshua has won all 20 of his professional bouts inside the distance, while Parker is unbeaten in a 24-fight career. &quot;It&#x27;s an exciting time to be a heavyweight,&quot; said Parker, sitting alongside Joshua in the news conference on Tuesday. &quot;This is going to be the hardest camp and most work as I have a big challenge in front of me in Joshua.&quot;I&#x27;ve watched him for a long time. I know his strengths, he know mine. I know his weaknesses and he thinks he knows my weaknesses.&quot;I can&#x27;t wait to have this fight happen on March 31...Hopefully I will catch him on the chin and knock him out.&quot;<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

Britain's Anthony Joshua dismissed a claim by New Zealand's Joseph Parker he is the "king of steroids" ahead of their world heavyweight title unification bout.

Britain's Anthony Joshua dismissed a claim by New Zealand's Joseph Parker he is the "king of steroids" ahead of their world heavyweight title unification bout.

Joshua laughs off Parker's drug taunts

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Joshua laughs off Parker's drug taunts

Julian GUYER,

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 17, 2018 10:18 AM PHT

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boxing

Anthony Joshua

Joseph Parker

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