Joseph Parker has promised to "do damage and punch with bad intentions" when he faces Britain's Dillian Whyte on Sunday (NZ time) in a showdown viewed as a world title fight eliminator.
Parker and Whyte will square off in front of a sold-out crowd at London's O2 Arena in the Aucklander's first outing since losing his WBO belt to Anthony Joshua in April.
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That was Parker's only blemish on an otherwise unbeaten record, a distinction he shares with Whyte, whose sole defeat also came against Joshua, back in December 2015.
A win for either fighter would put them in pole position to challenge for Deontay Wilder's WBC championship, and Joshua's WBO, WBA and IBF belts.
Speaking at the final press conference ahead of the bout, Parker, 26, said he would let his fists do the talking inside the ring on July 29.
"Before I used to come into fights and I used to say, 'hopefully I can catch him clean and get a knockout', but there's no 'hope' for me here," Parker said.
"I'm here to do damage, I'm here to punch with bad intentions. I'm going to break him down.
"My opponent has been talking a lot of smack and I think sometimes smack talk is a sign of doubt. It's a sign that he's trying to convince himself and others that he's ready for this big challenge.
"I hope he's ready to take a lot of punches, because I'm going to give it real bad."
Whyte said he hoped Parker would come out swinging, as he was determined to be the first man to drop the Kiwi on the canvas in his career.
"It's very risky, it's a dangerous fight, and like I say, he's going to come and bring it," said Whyte.
"He's going bring it and hopefully he does. He said he's going to come and throw punches, so we'll see where it goes and see what happens.
"It's going to be a painful fight. There is going to be some skills, a bit of blood and some technical stuff.
"A bit of running, a bit of boxing, but it's going to go down.
"He's been here a couple of times, but no one's hurt him yet and I want to be the first to hurt him. The prediction is pain, pure pain."
In the lead-up to the fight, Whyte's camp - most notably Eddie Hearn - has questioned Parker's desire to become a world champion again, but the Kiwi insists he is determined.
"I feel like I have the challenger's mentality, but the hunger, the motivation, the drive. It's firing and I'm just looking forward to putting it all on display on Saturday night."
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