Anthony Joshua's press conference with Joseph Parker lacked fireworks, but had plenty of lurking menace

Steve Bunce: Joshua wanted to put an abrupt end to some ‘fake news’ and Parker wanted to assure his rival that he would still get knocked out at their first press conference

Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker will settle their differences on March 31 (Getty)

There was a definite tension, even a nasty edge, when Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker finally sat down together to discuss their heavyweight title fight on March 31.

Joshua wanted to put an abrupt end to some ‘fake news’ and Parker wanted to assure his rival that he would still get knocked out; the claims made about Joshua’s glass chin, lack of stamina and mental fragility were also discussed.

“It’s all part of our business, I know that,” said Joshua. “I just think the world heavyweight championship should be held in high esteem. I’m proud to be champion and Joseph should be proud.”

Parker and his team have been getting closer to agreeing terms for a fight with Joshua for a few months and part of their choreographed strategy was to insult the British boxer, question just about everything aspect of his career and force a fight. It is not a truly original idea, but Joshua’s response was brilliant in it’s simplicity. Hundreds gathered at the Dorchester waiting for a melee, they wanted aggro and they got diplomacy.

“Here is some truth,” continued Joshua. “I was beaten at the European championships when I was a novice - two weeks earlier I was still being a bad boy. I was not knocked out.” Joshua was a raw novice when he reached the quarter-finals in 2011 and was rescued in the third round when he was still on his feet.

Parker held a conference late last year showing clips of Joshua getting hit and his management had asked for anybody with film of Joshua getting knocked out to send it to them. They are still waiting.

“I went straight from a police cell to sparring with David Price,” added Joshua. “I was a novice and he was an Olympic medalist and he caught me: Good shot, he could bang.” Price has never bragged about the sparring session and Joshua, when asked, has never denied the incident.

Joshua was unimpressed with all the trash talk (Getty)

“I was dropped in the (Wladimir) Klitschko fight,” said Joshua. “No excuses - I got caught and I got up and I won the fight. That’s it, there are no other incidents. That’s it and that should put an end to all the ‘fake news’.”

David Higgins, the promoter and showman, at the centre of Parker’s touring team turned to Joshua and thanked him for clearing up the rumours that he had started. “Hey, we would not have this fight if we had not started to push for it,” admitted Higgins to me an hour later and he is probably right.

“I respect him and respect what he has said,” claimed Parker. “I know I can win by a knockout.”

Parker is unbeaten in 24 and 18 of his fights have finished early. He has never been down, which seems to have been the starting point of the many and varied claims.

“I will say this,” continued Higgins, who is a lot fun when he starts ranting. “Joshua has a better jaw than most but not a better jaw than Parker. Is that fair?” It was a smart compromise and one that had Joshua chuckling two hours later as he ate an emergency late lunch of salmon and brown rice.

“These guys are hard to take,” he said. “They have the fight and now it gets serious for all of us - this is the part I like.” In true Joshua style he then slowly started to unload punches, moving his head, slipping and delivering punches as he smiled. The conference had no slaps, trash or ‘fake news’, but it did have a lurking, disturbing menace and that is what all great fights need.