By Duncan Johnstone

He's been brought here to be just another notch in the shiny belts of Joseph Parker but Bahamas heavyweight boxer Sherman Williams insists he's better than that.

With the usual sort of hype that proceeds fights, Williams declares he can - and will - beat New Zealand's rising star in west Auckland tomorrow night.

The 42-year-old says he's made a living out of causing upsets and intends to do the same here.

"I'm no Brian Minto, I'm no White Buffalo," Williams says, referring to a pair of aging fighters cast aside by Parker via knockout.

"I'm here to win, to take those belts. I've had a great camp, I've got a great game plan and I'm feeling healthy, ready to go.

"I'm going to take those titles back to the Bahamas with me and then give Joseph and Duco a reason to spread their wings and maybe come to the Caribbean."

Williams has fashioned a respectable 36-win, 13-loss, 2-draw career since turning pro in 1997. He's earned a reputation for his durability, being knocked out just once. He's also earned respect for a powerful overhand right that has helped him to 19 knockout victories.

Williams knows all about the nuances of fighting offshore and he's realistic enough to know he's going to have to put in an absolute performance to get the result tomorrow.

While the bulk of Williams' fights have been at home or the United States, he's battled in Finland, China, Germany and Canada, losing unanimous decisions in all but one of his five fights in those foreign rings.

"Look at boxing, it is what it is. We're not in the Bahamas, it speaks for itself.

"Here in New Zealand it's one of those situations. I'm not going to fool myself . Joseph is a Kiwi and the Kiwis love Joseph. On Thursday I'm going to have to give him a proper beating.

"I show up to fight, I come with a great attitude. I have a career that has taken me all around the world. I've fought in a lot of people's backyards. I didn't always get the decision."

Parker puts his WBO Oriental and WBA Asia Pacific belts on the line tomorrow and he's risking his impressive rankings of 11 and 14 with those organisations.

Williams, whose worn a few belts of his own through the years, loves this sort of situation.

"I've been the underdog before. If you look at my past I perform best when I'm the underdog," he said.

"The ratings mean nothing to me. Joseph is a good fighter, he's a good athlete but he never fought nobody like Sherman 'The Tank' Williams."

But Parker has his own game. It's a potent mix of speed and power that should counter Williams' aggression - as Minto and Frans Botha quickly discovered.