For the last few weeks, WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, and members of his team, have been verbally blasting Anthony Joshua, who holds the IBF, IBO, WBA world titles.
There are ongoing discussions for Parker (24-0, 18 KOs) and Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) to collide in a unification bout in the early part of 2018 - likely on a date in March or April.
They are currently close to reaching an agreement on the financial terms, after a long lapse where both sides were stuck on a 65-35 financial split in favor of Joshua.
Parker and his team held a press conference in New Zealand a few weeks ago, where they explained their reasons - with video evidence provided - on why they believe Joshua has a glass jaw.
Joshua is very confident that he'll deal with Parker and snatch away his title, but he's now wondering why the WBO champ is so confident about the outcome of their potential clash.
He feels Parker is acting very strange when compared to his past behavior in the lead-up to other contests.
Parker has continued to throw verbal bombs, but Joshua states that he won't take the bait by engaging in a public war or words. He feels Parker is attempting to get in his head before the fight.
"Parker, I don't know, it's unpredictable, because from a fighting perspective, I know I can beat him. But he's now trying to challenge me mentally, the things he's saying, the way he's acting, this is out of character," Joshua told Stuff.
"So I have to reassess Parker. I don't get where he's got this lease of confidence, I just don't get it but I'm going to have to assess Parker because he's not going to trouble me physically, he's trying to get to me mentally.
"I have to keep my cool and not get involved in any trash talking."
Both sides are hoping to reach a full agreement sooner than later in order to begin the promotion of the fight.
