Kiwi boxer Joseph Parker has taken time out from preparing for his heavyweight title eliminator bout with Carlos Takam to show New Zealand sevens star Liam Messam around Las Vegas.
Messam is in Sin City with the New Zealand squad for the latest round of the Sevens World Series and he caught up with Parker, who is based in Las Vegas with trainer Kevin Barry.
The pair posed for a photo in front of Floyd Mayweather's boxing gym, with Parker tweeting: "?My USO @LiamMessam made it to Vegas... looking forward to 7s on Saturday".
While Parker is excited about the rugby, which gets under way on Friday, boxing was sure to have been a hot topic of conversation given Messam won his pro debut last year after twice fighting in the Fight for Life.
Last week it was announced Parker will take on Takam, the highly-rated Cameroon-born, French-based boxer, in his next bout with the winner earning the No 1 mandatory challenger position with the IBF.
That would then put them in line to fight the winner of April's championship showdown between Charles Martin and Anthony Joshua.
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Parker is unbeaten over 18 fights, with 16 wins by knockout, while Takam's record stands at 33 victories (25 KOs), two losses (1 KO) and a draw.
No details for the date or venue have been confirmed, but Parker's promoters Duco Events are targeting a May fight and are hoping it can be held in New Zealand.
Messam, meanwhile, is back in the New Zealand sevens squad for the first time since helping them win gold at the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010.
He is unlikely to play in Las Vegas, though, with coach Sir Gordon Tietjens hoping to bring him up to speed in time for next week's event in Canada.
