By Duncan Johnstone
The scar is clearly visible but Joseph Parker's camp insists there are no issues with the young heavyweight's left eyebrow as he prepares to take his skills to a massive global audience.
Parker was in Auckland today on a whirlwind New Zealand promotion of his April 26 clash with durable Bahamas fighter Sherman Williams in Germany.
They will clash on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko's world heavyweight tile fight with Samaon-Australia Alex Leapai.
Parker hasn't fought since last October's brutal second round knockout of Afa Tatupu to win the New Zealand title in Auckland.
But it was a win that came with a price - Parker's face split above the left eye from a clash of heads, an injury that required surgery and patience.
Now he will re-enter the ring after six months with tons of confidence in his health and his abilities as gets set to display his skills to a potential TV audience of more than 100 million.
"The eye is fine," Parker said. "I took a decent blow to it in sparring and there were no problems."
Cuts and bleeding are a fighter's nightmare, especially for a 22-year-old making his way at a rapid rate.
Parker's trainer Kevin Barry was quick to put any talk of potential problems with the eye aside.
"The eye was last year - we don't have an issue with the eye. The eye is 100 percent, it hasn't given us any reason for concern since we started this training camp and in our sparring," Barry said.
"We have got 75 rounds of sparring behind us and a lot of hard training. Our training has gone really well. I really like where Joseph is at the moment four weeks out from the fight."
Barry believes Parker, just seven rounds into a professional career full of promise, will need to be at a new level against Williams, a 41-year-old who has won 36 fights, lost 13 and drawn two - and only been stopped once.
"We realise that Sherman is a huge step up in class for Joseph.
Joseph is going to have to lift his game considerably. He is going to have to be far improved on what we saw last year to be competitive and victorious in this fight. But he has put the hard work in."
Williams is on his way to Austria to link up with the Klitschko camp.
He is built similar to the squat Leapai and the world champion has brought him on board for sparring.
Williams believes working against a taller opponent like Klitschko will have him well prepared for Williams.
Ad Feedback
"It's a great opportunity for me," Williams said of sparring with Klitchkos, something he ahs done previously.
"Wladimir is very systematic. It's a good camp to be in, it's a great routine."
