Joseph Parker claims he has seen fear in Hughie Fury's eyes and believes the British heavyweight will be on the run in their WBO world heavyweight title fight next month.
Parker defends his belt against Fury in Manchester on September 23.
They finally met up last month in a British promotion for the fight and the 25-year-old felt there was a tell-tale sign from Fury during their stare down.
"It's good that he believes in himself, " Parker told World Boxing News of the brave talk coming out of the Fury training camp in Lake Windermere.
"But during the stare down in Manchester last month his eyes gave him away. They told a totally different story and trust me, he's worried."
Parker tipped that to continue when the bell rings for the fight.
"I'm expecting he's going to use the ring and run and I will have to chase him down."
Fury has accused Parker of looking beyond him with the Kiwi's handlers in talks with rival British promoter Eddie Hearn about a path to a possible unification bout with WBA and IBF champion Anthony Joshua.
Duco Events boss David Higgins said it was his job to do long-term planning and Parker's job to keep his mind on the fight in front of him.
Parker insists he's doing just that.
"I'm not looking past September 23. My 100 per cent focus is on Hughie Fury. There are no mega-fights out there unless I get past Hughie Fury," Parker told World Boxing News.
"I think it's amusing Hughie thinks I'm thinking past this fight. Hughie is gravely mistaken. I have put a massive target on Hughie's head."
Parker is in training in Las Vegas for the fight which will be the second defence of the title he won last December.
Photo by:REUTERS Caption: Joseph Parker and Hughie Fury finally got to meet last month ahead of September's WBO world heavyweight title fight in Manchester.