Joseph Parker has enlisted the help of All Blacks' mental skills guru Ceri Evans. His influence was said by skipper Richie McCaw to be massive in the lead-up to the tournament and throughout. "A few things were troubling me," Parker said as he continued his preparations for the WBO title fight against Andy Ruiz Jr at Vector Arena on December 10. Trainer and mentor Kevin Barry said the mental approaches of Ruiz Jr and Parker would be crucial to victory, adding that the Kiwi was already very strong mentally. "There's also a lot of other pressures that go on in a person's life that sometimes aren't always visible.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 14, 2016 19:08 UTC