What was the advice going through the fight that you were saying to Ben through the rounds?

Keep it simple.

Reverse one, two.

You're hurting into the body.

He had a good chin, Wallace.

You can see that big head equals a good chin.

And he took some good shots.

I'm sure you were stressed in those last, just here, sure you were quite stressed those last couple of rounds is that something that you drill and prepare for in the gym and if so is how Ben handled it how you teach him to handle it in the gym

What do the fighters teach you?

They teach me...

They teach you, like, they all have ex- Like, say for instance, Hamza had a lot of experience in America sparring with different guys, and you learn to trust, trust them.

Yeah, you learn, you learn to trust them and learn to...

You learn to let them learn themselves, like, and I would say, like, when a fighter wants to do a certain thing, and maybe you don't agree with it, earlier, when I was coaching earlier, I would've overruled them, and they probably would've carried a bit of resentment because I didn't allow them to do what they wanted a certain way.

And I've probably picked it up from Sugar Hill, I would say.

You allow them to do.

What is happening with Joseph Parker?

Andy, a fight that we talked about for a while because when we looked at the rankings, we knew this was a real possibility, aware of the amateur pedigree and the ability of Conor Wallace and a great matchup for Ben on Saturday.

That's the way I see it, a great matchup for two young, hungry fighters who have a lot to gain.

And I think Ben has to be careful of Conor because if Conor somehow manages to win, He's in the limelight.

He rips up the script, as he's been saying.

But believe me, Ben's left no stone unturned.

He's been in Ireland for eight weeks.

He's trained extremely hard.

Have you seen that power in the camp? I mean, people will say, oh, you know, it's the level of opposition, but we know he's been stepping up the level of opposition, but seems to be punching extremely hard at the moment.

But it's also a fight he understands that he can win and look very, very, very good doing it.

it.Yeah, I agree with all those things.

Um, Ben is destined for greatness.

And we were driving in the car couple of days ago, and, uh, I, I just...

I said m- like, "I see you not just being a world champion, not just being somebody like me who wo- who worked all their life to win a world title," but that, that was, you know, my pinnacle.

But I see him being unified, if not undisputed, and f- the-- one of the faces of boxing.

You know, when you look at the faces of boxing, you got Canelo and Tyson and AJ and-

Yeah.

Thank you.

I wanna ask you about the moment before the ring walk.

That's the, the most intense, overwhelming moment for any fighter.

The first time I had it in the Royal Hotel in Bray-

Mm-hmm

... because you carry the weight of your entire journey, and you carried through every venue in Europe as an amateur, Madison Square Garden, the 3Arena-

How much has boxing changed?

I think sports science... is a huge part of boxing now, especially because it's a weight category sport and you have to diet and make weight.

Like I can remember years ago, we'd just eat what we wanted the last few weeks.

Last week or two, you start eating, you know, and you just diet and don't eat anything really for the last week, you know what I mean? And then you dehydrate yourself to death and then you're in a sauna even.

You don't drink for 48 hours.

Whereas now, I think sports science has improved boxing a lot.

Has it improved technically? I think the fighters are fitter and stronger.

Is that an easy decision on your part? For

What sort of challenge do you think is in front of you, Andy, on Saturday in Toronto, McKenna?

Tyrone is a cult hero in this country.

You know, he's a legend of Irish sport, of Irish boxing.

And he always comes for war.

He comes for war every time.

He's never in a bad fight.

He's retired five times.

No, I'm

What are your memories of that day?

Oh, it was, it was, the amount of people, like, if she could have got 80,000 people into the XL arena, they would have.

It was fantastic and just the feeling, the patriotism and, you know, people being proud to be Irish and the flags and the tricolours going around the place and, the win but like the fact is that that moment's not even the highlight anymore it is a highlight and it's definitely like whatever it is end of a chapter but then she obviously she carried on as amateur and then she has the disappointment of Rio and most people would have thought it was over but she thought differently and from I don't know the insides out but she reached out to Eddie Hearn said I want to send him that famous message on Instagram and he said oh better have a look at this and I think it was a time of change as well in society because female sport was becoming more prominent not as prominent as it is now but there was they were trying to make it equal.

You know, in some way, there was a...

I don't know.

Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah, no, I think there was.

Absolutely.

Has he reacted well to the Crocker defeat? We haven't spoken to you since then.

What are your memories of that day? Oh, it was...

The amount of people, like if they could have got 80,000 people into the XL arena, they would have.

It was fantastic.

And just the feeling, the patriotism and, you know, people being proud to be Irish and the flags and the tricolours going around the place.

The win.

But like the fact is that that moment's not even the highlight anymore.

It is a highlight and it's definitely like whatever it is, end of a chapter.

Has he reacted well to the Crocker defeat? We haven't spoken to you since then.

When I say Katie Taylor, what are the first words that come to mind?

The one word you associate with Katie Taylor is legend.

Touch bearer who changed the sport of boxing.

as a professional and before that, as an amateur.

People forget there was no female amateur boxer before Katie Taylor came.

I first saw Katie as a 15-year-old in the German boxing club as she was doing pads with her dad.

And I said, who's that, you know? I said, that's Katie Taylor.

What are her best attributes from your perspective as a

As the years tick on, and he becomes more and more experienced, does your job get easier?

You know, Pa- there's a sort of, um, I don't know.

Like, we're so in sync now, and, like, we trained so long together that he can be s- like, he can be sparring, and in my mind I'll think of a punch or a combination, and he'll do it instantly.

He'll almost do it without me even [laughs] having to tell him, you know.

Um, but he's developed into...

I'm so proud of him because he's developed into a world-class boxer now.

Um, he's a really seasoned pro, and, um, just to watch him is, is a joy.

... didn't you? Uh, uh, talk to us about the maybe 20,000 odd extra that Paddy is gonna be facing into at Croke Park.

... with his assessment regarding your guy, Joe? Should he fight the likes of Kabayel as opposed to waiting for Usyk?

Usyk?It's interesting to see what will happen now, and what the position or how this all plays out really, and what Usyk decides to do.

Like he said, he's probably seven months away from fighting.

Joe hasn't fought since February.

He needs a fight, Joseph.

He's, like my, as he said, when he's active he's at his best.

Um, so but who is the opponent? Ch- fighting Kabayel, they're both great fighters.

Uh, can you put that hat back on and tell us... you're not gonna give us the game plan, I know, but how does Joseph Parker pull this off? If in fact he gets the shot, and we all hope and pray he does, what's the key to beating Usyk?