Joseph Parker's "thumping" headaches, a consequence of the headbutt received during his recent loss to Dillian Whyte, have only just stopped, but he has already started training again to get back in the ring.
Parker revealed to the Herald today the extent of the concussion injury in the second round caused by the illegal blow from Whyte which put him on the canvas at London's O2 Arena.
The 26-year-old New Zealander didn't look himself in the ring as he struggled to recover from the dream-like state he found himself in, and, incredibly, was knocked down again in the ninth round by a left hook before he floored Whyte in the 12th round as he launched his comeback.
"Yesterday was the first day I haven't had thumping headaches but I had an MRI scan and the doctor said there were no blood clots or any injuries," Parker said.
"He said 'don't worry about it'."
Just over a week has passed since the toughest and most dramatic fight of Parker's life, one during which he sustained more punishment than ever before. He has a sore right ear from the headbutt but there are no longer any bruises on the south Aucklander's face, and no mental scars either apparently.
"There was one part of the fight when I said to myself to throw the right and the left hook which I did, but I felt like I was punching in slow motion and I thought 'what the hell's happening here'?"
Parker's admissions will probably lead to more calls for him to give it away – especially given he has understood to have banked in the region of $10million from his last two fights – points defeats by Anthony Joshua and Whyte.
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He lost his WBO heavyweight world title in his loss to Joshua in Cardiff in April and the Whyte fight was supposed to be his redemption-type comeback. Instead, it finished very differently, and that is the professional fighter's lot; there are no guarantees in this brutal sport other than pain.
"A lot of people say I should give up and retire," Parker said. "I'm only 26 and I've only lost twice – It's not the end of the world. I'm still learning. You look at the champions – I'm not trying to compare – but they were great fighters and [Wladimir] Klitschko lost three times, Lennox [Lewis] lost three times, and were knocked out in their fights. No one told them to retire.
"Everyone's entitled their opinion but I think everyone should get behind us and support us. They're even saying change teams; if it wasn't for David [Higgins] I wouldn't be fighting Joshua or Whyte, if it wasn't for Kevin [Barry] I wouldn't be in good shape."
Parker said he came home from London and arrived at his south Auckland house to find daughter Elizabeth, who will turn two in November, waiting for him outside the front door. He said after his absence in camp in Las Vegas for a couple of months that she was shy, but "I grabbed her and held her".
It was also the first time he met his other daughter, Shiloh, born in July. It was an emotional time and the three have spent a lot of time in each other's company since.
"Father life is a bit different to camp life; camp life you wake up at 5 o'clock, as a father of a newborn you're up at 1, you're up at 3… Elizabeth is close to her mum, so when one's crying the other one's crying," Parker said.
He has begun running again and said he is happy to fight "anyone, anywhere". He said he was committed to his plan of fighting until he was 30 or 31.
"David is looking at options at the moment. He's getting calls from matchmakers around the world. If they want a re-match I'll fight him [Whyte] again, but I know I have to work my way up again now that I've lost to Joshua and Whyte."
