By Duncan Johnstone

Joseph Parker says he's in the best shape of his life for the biggest challenge of his career and promises a body assault on Carlos Takam in their heavyweight boxing clash next week.

A fit and confident Parker fronted the media in Auckland on Thursday, clearly motivated by the challenge of the IBF eliminator that will give the winner a mandatory challenge for the world title.

The stakes are high and Parker has reacted accordingly. He outlined a tough training camp that has him in peak physical condition and also gave a hint of his fight plan against the 35-year-old Takam, who also looks to be in prime order.

"My goal is to box smartly and use my distance and reach and move around."

"We have been working on attacking the body ... we have been focusing on that a lot more in this camp. Body work is very important," Parker said, intent on breaking down the rugged French fighter.

"We have been working on attacking the body ... we have been focusing on that a lot more in this camp."

"In past fights I didn't attack the body as much as I should have. In this fight it's going to be important to hit the body from the beginning and execute the plan we have in place.

"My goal is to box smartly and use my distance and reach and move around."

With his lightning hand speed, Parker welcomed the prospect of Takam's pressure game. Parker's height advantage means Takam will need to take the fight in close, a risky proposition given the Kiwi's assets.

"He's the type of fighter that puts you under pressure. He comes foward, throws a lot of punches. He puts on huge pressure and that pressure does tire a lot of boxers. But him putting on pressure is going to open doors for me. If he comes forward and makes a mistake or opens up, I'm going to take it," Parker, who has 16 knockout wins to his name, said.

While Takam had been happy to throw some barbs at Parker on Wednesday, the Kiwi was his usual respectful self when discussing his opponent.

Duco promoter Dean Lonergan says more than 500 tickets for Parker's fight against Carlos Takam will be on TradeMe at a $1 reserve.

"He's very good defensively as well. He uses his shoulder, he rolls it, slides it and punches," Parker said of the Cameroon-born fighter.

"He is in great shape. He has put in the work, he's confident in what he can do. Both fighters think we can win so it's going to be a hard fight."

Parker is proud of his increasingly impressive body shape and just as proud of the commitment it took to achieve that over a gruelling 12-week training camp in Las Vegas.

"It has definitely made me stronger. I have put on a  bit of muscle."

He revealed he had been "putting in the extras" that included sit-ups and push-ups before sleep. Asked for details he said he was now doing more than 100 push-ups in a row.

"I don't know if that's a lot, but as a heavyweight that's OK," he smiled. "You have to fight your own fight. It's commitment but I set goals and my aim is to not only feel good but to look good and do well.

"I think this is the best Joseph Parker you are going to see."

Parker said "a great night" would involve a knockout victory in one or two rounds. But he was confident he could go the distance over 12 rounds if required. He believed his training in and out fo the ring had proven that.

"I have pushed myself harder because this is the biggest challenge of my career and I want to be as prepared as I can be.

"At times in training you think your body is so sore and how can you push through? But when you dig deep into your soul and you are aiming to achieve something, and have you coach pushing you ... then you know you have a great team and that you have prepared yourself as best as you can."

Parker believed he had upped his mental game as well as his physical one.

"With this fight we have dug deeper. Mentally you have to be a lot stronger as well, just because of the challenge and the size of the event. I think we have entered a different stage in the mental side of things."

Parker is undefeated over 18 fights with 16 knockouts. Takam has 25 knockouts in his 33 wins to go with two losses and a draw.