Tyson Fury has opened up on his bromance with Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker, saying the pair's friendship now extends well beyond the ring.
Fury spoke freely about Parker in an interview with BT Sports ahead of his WBC title defence against fellow Brit Dillian Whyte in London on April 24.
The "Gypsy King" said Parker was part of the family now, having spent the last year based in the UK in Fury's hometown.
"Joe's been over here for about a year now, I believe," Fury told BT Sport.
"We call him 'Morecombe Joe' now."
The heavyweights sparked the unlikely bond after Parker defended his WBO title against Fury's cousin Hughie in 2017.
The pair have been close since with Parker helped Fury prepare for his own defence next month.
"I always believe in 'steel sharpens steel'," Fury said of Parker.
"Joe wants to be world champion again and he wants to be in big fights and I'm already doing that so it's very good for us to be around each other - we bring the best out of each other.
"If Joe's working hard and I'm not one day at the gym, we'll push each other on and vice versa."
Specifically, Fury said Parker's previous experience with Whyte - a controversial loss in 2018 that went all 12 rounds despite a head clash in the second round - was a big gain for his fight preparation.
“Obviously he's fought Dillian Whyte before. He knows what Dillian Whyte does best and what he does bad. Joe and Dillian had a close fight, and Dillian Whyte got the decision. So Joe knows a lot about Dillian Whyte.
"So it's very, very handy to have Joe in camp, giving me those advice tips."
Fury added he's helping Parker as well.
“I'm Joe's mental adviser, financial adviser, part-time manager, part-time business partner and part-time mentor and life coach," he said.
Parker is training while he waits for his next fight to be confirmed after coming off an impressive win over Dereck Chisora last December that his kept him relevant in title discussions.
Currently, unbeaten Londoner Joe Joyce along with rematches against former champion Anthony Joshua or Andy Ruiz have been touted as options for Parker.
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