During a blissful summer break in Samoa and New Zealand, Parker afforded himself the chance to bask in the afterglow of his historic victory over Andy Ruiz last December.
Once his first title defence was set against unbeaten Brit Hughie Fury, Parker immediately returned to Vegas, skipping the NRL Auckland Nines and Halberg Awards where he was nominated for sportsman of the year, and ripped into smashing out 10 rounds at a time on the bag. He even requested to start sparring early.
