Just inside the door of the TGA BOX health and fitness gym in Judea, there's a life-sized poster of Muhammad Ali standing over a prostrate Sonny Liston.

It reads ‘first round, first minute' – the bald facts of the 1965 world heavyweight title fight knockout in Lewiston, Maine.

It was one of the most anticipated and most watched - albeit brief - fights in boxing history.

'And that's why heavyweight boxing is so explosive and so good to watch,” says TGA BOX owner, Chris Walker. 'And if Joshua and Parker let their hands go, and Parker lands - then hey - he could turn this whole fight around, just like that.”

The gym owner, trainer and veteran of 50 amateur fights is slavering at the prospect of March 31's heavyweight unification scrap in Cardiff. And he reckons he will be joined by 4.693 million other New Zealanders.

'It will be massive - probably our biggest sporting event of the year.”

He says the David Tua/Lennox Lewis ‘Royal Rampage' title fight in 2000 was the most watched sporting event in New Zealand history until the last Rugby World Cup. 'But the Parker/Joshua fight is capable of being every bit as big.”

Think Melbourne Cup – you don't have to be an aficionado to be drawn into the talk, the hype and the sweeps. The fight will stop the nation.

'You have Anthony Joshua, one of the most popular sportsmen on the planet at the moment. Charismatic, likeable, fantastic athlete, looks fantastic, performs and entertains. People want to see knockouts and he delivers every time.”

And then there's the Cinderella story. 'Not so long ago Joseph was fighting amateur tournaments in New Zealand with about 100 people watching.” Now fast forward. 'He's about to fight in an arena filled with 80,000 screaming Poms, a worldwide television audience and a potential purse of $12 million.”

Parker went to the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and didn't even win a medal. Now he's fighting an Olympic gold medalist and a world champion. 'But the raw ingredients are there,” says Chris. 'Parker has lots of natural strength and power, he's fight-clever, durable with stamina, gone the distance more that AJ, has a reasonably good chin and quick hands and feet.”

All that, says Chris, means Parker has a real puncher's chance.

Boxing's not as popular in New Zealand as other countries. 'It's thriving in Great Britain because they have poured money into the amateur ranks and it has produced medals and results and the promoters have jumped aboard.”

Certainly here in Tauranga boxing has become more mainstream with the fitness aspect of the sport. Chris has about 900 members at his gym.

'When I was growing up, boxing clubs were for people who wanted to box. Trainers weren't interested in anyone else.”

Well, that has changed. And money created by the fitness aspect of the sport can be channeled into amateur boxing itself. 'So there are positive things happening to boxing in Tauranga,” says Chris.

Meanwhile, a month out from a title fight 12,000 kilometres away, the local fight scene is gripped by an 'everyday, friendly, humble, respectful and gentle” guy's ambition to be champion of the world.

'It's very exciting. We've been watching both athletes for quite some time and listening to all the experts. The general consensus is Joshua is the clear favourite and Parker has just a 30 to 40 per cent chance of winning. They are writing him off but I'm not. I think he has a 40 per cent chance, and in heavyweight boxing that's a pretty good chance.”

But it depends on Parker's game plan.

'He has to take a few risks; risk and reward. It'll be exciting and everyone will be riveted.”