Parker still hot property, as Hearn builds ‘American empire’

Joseph Parker remains hot property, with British promoter Eddie Hearn emphasising the Kiwi’s role in his bid to build an American empire.

Hearn has an agreement with streaming service DAZN whose aim is to be ‘‘the Netflix of sport’’ in an increasingly aggressive and competitive market that is targeting boxing’s traditional TV markets.

Hearn’s first forays in the United States will be two shows in Chicago on October 6 and in Boston on October 20.

But his plans extend well beyond that and he will need a stable of boxers across all divisions. As always, the heavyweights remain a major drawcard.

"The heavyweights are all coming on,’’ Hearn told Thaboxingvoice, referencing the work that had been done since his July 29 card in London that saw Parker lose to Dillian Whyte.

Hearn said he had Anthony Joshua, Whyte, Carlos Takam, Dereck Chisora, and Jarrell Miller on board.

‘‘We are working with Joseph Parker and Duco. Can we get [Dominic] Breazeale, can we get [Luis] Ortiz?

‘‘Then all or a sudden, they are looking at it and saying, ‘wow, they’ve got eight of the top 10’.’’

Parker has had a loose arrangement with American promoter Bob Arum at Top Rank, which has just extended its TV deal with ESPN to 2025.

Interestingly, Parker was set to fight Arum’s American heavyweight Bryant Jennings before a last-minute change of plans saw him switch to the more lucrative fight against Whyte in a deal quickly stitched together by Hearn and Duco boss David Higgins.

Hearn and his Matchroom company see DAZN as the future of boxing and believe fighters will eventually understand that vision.

‘‘I don’t see this as a risk for us, I see this as an opportunity. Jumping ship to DAZN is not a risk, it’s a reward. Fighters will see that as time goes on. They pay more money than anyone else and are with the best promotion in the world and on a platform that will drive up your profile and invest in you,’’ Hearn told the Telegraph in Britain as attention builds on his American dream.

‘‘The most important thing for us when we selected our US partner was a huge budget and a huge number of dates.

‘‘Matchroom and DAZN have to be in synergy. We’re similar because we’re both cool, high tech and penetrating a huge audience. We want to keep within the traditional nature of the sport, but we want to be new too.

‘‘We have a huge job ahead of us because we’re up against it and people want to see us fail. It’s easy to mug Matchroom and DAZN off. But if you’ve got the balls to move away from the traditional platforms, you’ll be well rewarded.’’

Hearn said DAZN, the dream of billionaire Len Blavatnik, was ‘‘to see huge nights and huge fights on their platform. They know it will take time, but it’ll happen sooner rather than later’’.

Parker may be at the low point of his career following successive losses to Joshua and Whyte. But his timing for a revival couldn’t have been better. He’s marketable as the first opponent to take Joshua the distance and his fighting finish to the loss against Whyte has kept his stocks high.

Suddenly the heavyweight scene appears to have more dates than fighters and that could provide Parker with options.

Parker seems likely to hit the reset button with a fight at home later this year before choosing whether to get back to the UK or cash in on the US.