WBO put heat on Hughie Fury
Duco Events boss David Higgins has welcomed the WBO deadline to ‘‘flush out’’ Hughie Fury for his mandatory challenge against heavyweight title holder Joseph Parker.
Fury is in danger of losing his title shot if he doesn’t quickly sign the fight contract.
The WBO are tiring of the protracted contract negotiations between the two camps and have set a deadline for Fury to sign of they will consider allowing Parker a voluntary defence.
World Boxing Organisation president Paco Valcarcel said the Fury camp must sign by early Saturday (NZ time).
Parker’s handlers have delighted with the WBO’s proactive stance. Duco won the purse bid for the fight earlier this month with a US$3.01m bid. They set Auckland on April as their preferred fight date but have also been investigating options in Samoa, Singapore and even Fury’s home city of Manchester.
Higgins described the negotiations with Fury’s promoter Frank Warren as ‘‘slow going and tough going’’ and believed the WBO intervention was timely.
‘‘I think it’s refreshing to see the WBO take that stance and flush the situation out,’’ Higgins told Fairfax on Friday.
He was hopeful of the matter being sorted, but equally open to looking elsewhere in the top 15 if the deal falls over.
‘‘There’s always a resolution but there has got to be a meeting of minds.
The contract we are asking them to sign is pretty much the same as most opponents have signed,’’ Higgins said.
‘‘Either way ... if it’s sorted out Fury will get his title shot and if it’s not sorted out, the WBO champion Joseph Parker will fight someone else.
‘‘We have got people who work with us who are always analysing the rankings of every sanctioning body and always looking at the right options and eventualities.’’
It’s a strange stance from the Fury camp given his golden opportunity.
The unbeaten 22-year-old hasn’t fought for almost a year and was surprisingly given the mandatory challenger’s rights when fellow Brit David Haye opted out of fighting Parker to take on a more lucrative local bout with Tony Bellew.
Duco won’t be short of top 15 alternatives though Fury has genuine appeal because of his high profile in the UK, a market the Kiwi camp are eager to crack.
The Fury camp are likely to have a major issue if the fight goes ahead in New Zealand.
Fury’s trainer and father Peter has serious drug convictions that would require him to apply for a special exemption to enter New Zealand.