‘Bigfoot’ means big cut in pay
Kiwi star fights former sparring partner for belt Parker must take a walk on boxing’s Wilder side
Joseph Parker has admitted he is taking a “considerable” pay cut to defend his World Boxing Organisation heavyweight belt in Auckland following the withdrawal of Hughie Fury. Parker was scheduled to receive an estimated $2.4 million compared to Fury’s $1.7 million from promoters Duco Events, but the Brit pulled out with a lower back injury on Sunday.
The New Zealander will now meet giant Romanian Razvan Cojanu, nicknamed “Bigfoot”, on May 6. The fight has been shifted from the 12,000-capacity Spark Arena in downtown Auckland, to the 3000-capacity Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau where Parker has fought four times as a professional.
Parker last night told the Herald the money he was in line to earn for the Fury fight was well down on what had been reported, but admitted the late change in opponent has hit him in the pocket.
“[The purse has dropped] considerably — this is the sport we’re in and you just have to adapt and accept that,” he said.
The likely decrease in British broadcasting rights revenue for the main event meant costs had to be reduced. The scale of the production was downsized as a result.
The pay-per-view cost will be $49.95 for New Zealand viewers.
“Previously we were subject to certain purse rules [ for the Parker-Fury fight],” Duco Events director David Higgins said. “We’ve since negotiated with Parker and Cojanu and they’ve agreed to a deal. It could be the last time Parker fights in New Zealand. We haven’t had an avalanche of refunds because they [ the patrons] are Joseph Parker fans. We’re grateful to them for bearing with us.
“My goal is for it to be economically viable and break even. This will still be distributed globally as a heavyweight title fight.”
The Herald understands Cojanu would get less than a seven-figure sum.
The 2.02m Cojanu meets the WBO criteria of being in their top-15 list as the mandatory challenger, ranked at 14. The 30-year-old has a 16-win, two-loss record.
“I’d like to thank Hughie Fury for pulling out,” he said yesterday.
“I’m not taking the fight for the money. I always said if I got a title shot [ anywhere] I’d say ‘ yes’. “I’ve come to prove I can knock Joseph Parker out. I know him and his strategies from our training camps where I’ve only ever gone at 50, 60 or 70 per cent.”
Parker responded: “Because we’ve sparred together, he’s more dangerous than Fury in some ways. I’m starting to wonder what he really fights like.”
Cojanu also sparred with Alex Leapai before his April 2014 title defeat to Wladimir Klitschko.
Parker has spent 12 weeks preparing and told trainer Kevin Barry he “needed” to fight after last entering the ring in December. Americans Dominic Breazeale and Deontay Wilder also wanted to fight Parker, although Breazealle did not want to do so on the specified date.
Wilder told Radio Sport that boxing needed to unify the heavyweight division instead of fighters being positioned for pay days. Joseph Parker 1987/03/10 Voinesti, Romania Bigfoot Burbank, California Heavyweight 2.02m 127kg Orthodox 2011/03/11 16-2-0 50% WLWWW Thursday, April 27, 2017 If only they would stop calling these piffling boxing matches world title fights. Boxing keeps boxing on, turning low blows into desperate jabs, but Auckland has been dragged into the heavyweight mire by events of recent days. It's an embarrassment that won't go away. Joseph Parker's so-called defence of a WBO world crown against Hughie Fury was lightweight enough, when you consider how long Fury has been out of the ring, the lack of reputable notches on his belt, a splintered heavyweight scene lacking a credible pecking order, and a strange atmosphere of indifference which surrounded the build-up. Honestly, I've seen more excitement around a Super Rugby match. After Hughie quit the contest, his overweight cousin Tyson gave this joke a sad punch line with a mock offer to step in. What a tremendous laugh. The now-cancelled fight was being bolstered by the Fury name, the link to Tyson's famous win over Wladimir Klitschko. There was little which told the layman, the average punter, that Hughie was a decent fighter at all. Parker v H. Fury would have been a mid-grade contest on an undercard during the heavyweight glory days. In its place there is a fight on, but not much of one we will hope. Hughie Fury's replacement snuck into the country to a sparse reception, befitting a man who sneaks into just one of the four top-15 heavyweight ranking lists. Parker has little to win, and everything to lose against giant Romanian Razvan Cojanu. Even in victory, it will still be difficult for most of us to know if Parker is the real deal. Give boxing this though. It may