Joshua vs Parker: AJ in shape of his life thanks to perfect sleep… not changing his diet or training
Five months after coming in his heaviest ever against Carlos Takam here in Cardiff, AJ has whipped himself into the shape of his life
ANTHONY JOSHUA is boosting his bid to KO Joseph Parker by putting HIMSELF to sleep . . . in style.
Five months after coming in his heaviest ever against Carlos Takam here in Cardiff, AJ has whipped himself into the shape of his life.
JOSHUA VS PARKER LIVE AJ loses a stone ahead of unification blockbuster with Kiwi
Joshua weighed in at 17st 4lb — down from 18st 2lb against the Frenchman back in October.
The IBF and WBA champion is bidding to take Parker’s WBO belt at the Principality Stadium — and predicts a knockout win after eight or nine rounds.
Unbeaten Joshua, whose victory over Takam was his 20th inside the distance, believes his leaner and faster physique will help make the New Zealander No 21 in a row.
But AJ has not been on a crash diet, nor taken to spending even more time in the gym.
ANTHONY JOSHUA - 5,000 Kcal day
BREAKFAST: 5 poached eggs, fruit smoothie, smoked salmon & avocado bagel, porridge with honey.
SNACK: Carbohydrate and electrolyte gel or sports drink, pasta pot or sandwich.
LUNCH: Baked chicken breast or salmon fillets with sweet potatoes, steamed veg and salad. Yoghurt with honey.
PRE-TRAINING SNACK: Moroccan chicken with rice & kale.
DINNER: Whole skinless chicken or fillet steak, houmous, rice, avocado, beetroot and carrot salad.
DESSERT: Yoghurt with honey.
PROTEIN AND CARBOHYDRATE SHAKE: Chocolate, coconut and vanilla.
Instead perfect SLEEP seems to be the key to his transformation.
Joshua’s team shipped in a brand new Hyde and Sleep mattress to his digs in Sheffield, where he lives during camp.
And they even jetted the same bed to his fight-week base in Newport to make sure he got plenty of shut-eye before the big night.
Sports nutritionist Mark Ellison, who oversees all aspects of Joshua’s diet and lifestyle, revealed: “Before the last fight, his weight crept up.
JOSEPH PARKER - 4,400 Kcal day
JOSEPH PARKER: 4,400 Kcals
BREAKFAST: Salmon, 2 poached eggs, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, avocado and bowl of berries and pineapple, ¾ cup of oats, Greek yoghurt, nuts, pineapple.
SNACK: ½ cup nuts, banana, 100g tuna or salmon, whole wheat waffle with cottage cheese or houmous, fruit.
LUNCH: 200g turkey, chicken, fish or beef with sweet potato or brown rice or whole wheat pasta, veg, melon.
PRE-TRAINING SNACK: Boiled egg, rice crackers with almond butter, pineapple.
DINNER: Pork/fish/steak/chicken, choice of lentils/couscous/quinoa/brown rice/mash cauliflower or sweet potato, salad.
DESSERT: Greek yoghurt, nashi pear or an apple.
“Honestly we haven’t really changed what he eats at all, the menu is still the same as ever.
“But one of the things we have been monitoring since his last fight is his sleep and his sleep wasn’t great going into the last fight.
“So for this camp we made some changes to the training schedule.
“He has been training in the morning instead of the afternoon and it’s had a big impact on his sleep.
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“Sleep in the evenings has been really solid too.
“Sleep could be light and broken. So he’s had a look at the bed he uses to make sure he has a good quality one.
“We use a monitor to show us when he goes to sleep, how many hours of sleep he gets, how many interruptions.
“That’s been one thing that has significantly improved.”
Joshua is believed to have piled on more than half a stone during fight week alone before beating Takam in ten rounds.
Having put in hard graft during camp, he continued to feast on meals cooked by his personal chef once the training had stopped.
But he has not made the same mistake this time around with movement and fast feet considered the key to ending Parker’s 24-fight unbeaten record.
Joshua also revealed his camp have taken some inspiration from Team Sky’s world-beating cyclists.
The Brit said: “We watched Team Sky and what they do — they have the same bed in their training camp, the same bed at home, the same bed in competition.
“We are just trying to do the one per cents. They delivered one to Newport for fight week. It is about being more professional. The final things.”
AJ might have looked ice-cool around Parker ahead of tonight’s unification showdown, but the 6ft 6in Adonis has met his match during training camp.
As part of Team Joshua’s quest for perfect recovery, the 28-year-old has been forced into taking regular dips in the ice bath.
He said: “That’s freezing . . . that f****d me one day. That ice bath ain’t for me.”
Ellison even noticed somebody had tried to nudge up the temperature.
He said: “I had set it to three degrees but somebody had fiddled with it and it was up to seven.
“Do I suspect foul play from Joshua? Possibly, because he hates it.
“At first he was a like a cat, straight in and straight out again. He couldn’t last more than a couple of minutes. I like him to have five minutes minimum but in every camp we have, he’s getting more and more comfortable with it. Fair play to him, those are the little things he wouldn’t have done in the past.”
Parker might have been jokingly dubbed ‘King of Pies’ by BBC talkshow host Graham Norton when the fight was announced.
Yet there has not been a single pie in sight during his nine-week training camp in Las Vegas. And he arrived in Cardiff in what he feels is the best shape of his fighting life.
Like Joshua, the Kiwi has followed a strict, high-protein diet, consuming about 4,400 calories per day when he is training six days a week.
The 26-year-old — who weighed in six pounds lighter than his rival at 16st 12lb — tries to consume daily 225g of protein, 199g of fat and 455g of carbs, including 14 pills containing various vitamins and minerals.
Sunday is Parker’s ‘cheat day’ where he has a couple of afternoon snacks like corn chips, guacamole and salsa.
Trainer Kevin Barry is confident his star pupil will be fighting fit come the time the bell rings tonight.
Barry said: “Joseph has been more disciplined with his diet with this camp than ever before. He needed to be because of the size of this fight.
“He has dropped a lot of weight because he is training hard but also because he is eating clean.”
Joshua vs Parker: Tips and odds ahead of unification bout
ANTHONY JOSHUA has vowed to take his time and pick his shots, while Joseph Parker will be relying to land a big hit, writes Wally Downes Jr.
If AJ adopts his calculated approach, Parker will be on the back foot - but regardless of his tactics we back Joshua to win by stoppage.
And he could select his shots and KO the Kiwi in the later rounds.
But if Parker turns this bout into a scrap, which he needs to do, AJ could land his heavy right hand earlier on.
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- talkSPORT is the only place you can listen to radio commentary of the huge heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker.
- Adam Catterall, Dom McGuinness, John Rawling and Glenn McCrory will be ringside at the Principality Stadium to bring you live coverage from 8pm. Listen on DAB, through Sky Channel 0108 or on .