The British boxer will look to bounce back from his first career defeat to Callum Smith earlier this year when he takes on Parker in Manchester on Saturday (01.11.25) and is taking an "underdog mindset" into the crucial bout.

The light-heavyweight fighter told ESPN: "I'm always the underdog, so if he thinks he's one too, then great, but that's always my mindset and that's not even just from being a pro. I've always thought that from the amateurs.

"I achieved a lot quite quick. So, I was thinking 'maybe this is all fake, maybe I'm not expected to be doing this.'

"I always had that underdog mindset and it hasn't changed just because I came back [from the 2016 Olympics] with the (bronze) medal and got the exposure that I needed to, it's never changed."

Buatsi was able to accept his loss to Smith as he felt that, on another day, it could have been him that prevailed in the bout.

The boxer explained: "One thing I always said was I didn't leave the ring thinking I can't beat that guy.

"I left thinking, 'Damn, I know I can beat that guy. I could have beaten that guy.'

"If you lose and you're like, 'That's just a better man than me', all right, cool, sweet. But when I left the ring, I didn't ever think I could never be that guy. I never thought that, never ever thought that. Since the final bell to now."

The odds are stacked against Parker after an injury-blighted few years but he is going into the fight with belief that he can win.

He said: "You just got to believe in yourself really.

"I've had a few wins on the bounce, we're here now, probably the No.1 [and] 2 behind Callum Smith is going at it and whoever wins, I feel like there's a big, big fight on the cards next year."