Heavyweight contender Hughie Fury will have the eyes of WBO champion Joseph Parker on him at ringside Saturday night at the Copper Box Arena in London. The undefeated Manchester ace takes on Poland’s Kamil Sokolowski (4-10-2, 1 KO) over six rounds in an exhibition bout before heading into training camp for his crunch showdown with Parker on September 23rd at the Manchester Arena. The bout was changed to exhibition status because the WBO wouldn’t approve an interim bout for Fury before facing Parker.

The 22-year-old Fury hasn’t seen ring action since April 2016.

“Parker’s traveled all the way over from New Zealand for this so I’ve made sure he’s got the best seat in the house to watch me,” Said Fury.

“I’m looking forward to getting in the ring again and getting down to business ahead of the world title fight. It’s important that I get some rounds in before facing Parker and get myself back into the swing of things after being out of the ring,”

“I won’t be showing Parker the full display, I’m keeping some things back from him. Of course, between now and then we’ll be working on plenty of new things in the gym so he’s not getting anything that’s secret,”

“Every fight is dangerous and there is a risk, but I don’t want a punching bag standing in front of me that folds inside a round. What good is that to me ahead of challenging for the world title?”

“I need someone who is going to present me with a bit of a test and push me and in Sokolowski you’ve got someone who’s turned over two good up-and-coming prospects this year and well beaten them,”

“There’s no way he’s going to upset my apple cart, I know I can’t give him any opportunities.”

“I’ve had some good sparring with some top kids like Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce, Con Sheehan and Tom Aspinall, plus a few rounds with Tyson, but I need some actual ring action to properly shake off any ring rust so I can’t wait for Saturday night and then roll on September 23rd.”