Early points win for Team Parker
Joseph Parker gave his controversial promoter David Higgins his full backing as the Kiwis managed to orchestrate a referee change for his WBO world heavyweight title defence in Manchester.
Higgins polarised people with his heated argument with Hughie Fury’s trainer and father Peter at Tuesday’s press conference in London.
Higgins was thrown out as he demanded a neutral referee for the bout.
The British Boxing Board of Control offered a compromise Team Parker were willing to accept on Wednesday, replacing the controversial Terry O’Connor with another Englishman, Marcus McDonnell.
It was a points victory for the Kiwis ahead of the fight and now Parker is looking for a knockout on the night.
It seems there was method to Higgins’ madness and 24 hours after all the hullabaloo Parker had no complaints at all about his boss’ behaviour.
‘‘Nah, David is David. He’s not usually like that, he tried to prove a point. It may or may not have been the best way to go about it but he definitely proved the point.’’
Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry concurred: ‘‘I think Dave did a really good job getting the referee changed. There was a bit of noise and a bit of fuss going on yesterday but David had a point to make and I think he actually got his point across.
‘‘The referee plays a pivotal part in the fight and that’s why there has been a fair bit of noise made in the past few days.
‘‘We don’t have neutral officials but we did not like the referee that we had, so onward now for the 23rd.
South African heavyweight Frans Botha, a former foe of Parker’s who was at Higgins’ side as he fronted the Furys, felt the Kiwi star should be thankful for the sort of team he has around him.
‘‘If I was Joseph Parker I would be delighted to have a man stand up for me like David Higgins did for his fighter. In my boxing career I had to basically stand up for myself,’’ Botha said.
‘‘David was right to stand up for his fighter. The referee plays a huge part in a fight. He can disqualify a fighter. He can give him warnings unnecessarily and obstruct him from fighting his way.’’
Interestingly the Fury camp also eventually saw logic in distancing themselves from O’Connor who had refereed Fury’s last two fights which was Higgins’ major beef.
Peter Fury told Sky Sport UK: ‘‘We’ve written to the (British) Boxing Board of Control, and they’re looking to oblige and change things around. We’ve requested it as well. That’s all we can do.’’
Higgins also put the fight on the map finally with widespread coverage of his antics splashed around the British media for a bout that has been struggling for profile.
‘‘I think there is a lot more recognition for the fight, a lot more people knowing about it and talking about it, so it’s good in the way that it can help build our profile here,’’ Parker said.
He brushed off the low ticket sales that have seen only 5000 sold as the clock ticks away to Sunday’s
fight. Eager to make an impact on his UK debut, he says he will just have to prove is own point on the night.
‘‘I don’t really care who is going to be there, whether its 10 or 15 people, I just want to knock him out, fight him. I just want to get in there and do my thing,’’ Parker said.
‘‘If it’s a big crowd, it would probably be more for him so I just want to get in there and beat him up.
‘‘Hopefully we can get some good coverage from the fight. That’s our goal coming over here and being part of this heavyweight scene.’’
Barry admitted some disappointment in the crowd size but emphasised that was out of their hands.
‘‘We have no control over that. Hey, it would have been nice to fight in a full stadium of 20,000. When they first talked about fighting in the Manchester Arena we were very excited about it. We thought, oh wow, we were visualising walking out to that.
‘‘So it’s a little disappointing, but it puts a bit more pressure on their side of the equation.’’