Joseph Parker has hit back at claims he's not motivated to be heavyweight champion again, saying he is hungrier than ever.
Parker is facing Dillian Whyte at London's O2 Arena on July 29 (NZ time) in what will be the Aucklander's first outing since losing his WBO belt to Briton Anthony Joshua in April.
Earlier in the week, Whyte's promoter Eddie Hearn questioned the 26-year-old's motivation after receiving a big payday against Joshua and following the birth of his second daughter.
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But Parker refutes those claims, saying he is hungrier than ever as he looks to become a heavyweight champion again.
"I lost the world title, we are still hungry," he told Sky Sports UK.
"Our team really want to be champion again, so there's no point in mucking around with fights that are easy.
"There is no point going into camp and training for so long and then blasting someone out in one round.
"Every heavyweight possesses power, but off Dillian's record, you can see he's got a lot of knockouts so you know he possesses the power to knock you out if he catches you."
Parker insists he is in a good place mentally and physically two weeks out from the bout.
"The main person to look at this and overlook and see if it's the right fight is [trainer] Kevin [Barry] and our matchmaker and I'm happy with it as well, so when the whole team is happy, it's time for us to get it on.
"The challenge of fighting someone who is highly ranked and the power that he brings, and the style he brings, that's going to bring the best out of us."
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