Parker should vent his Fury offshore
This was meant to be Parker's grand hurrah, his first defence but also a farewell fight for his New Zealand fans before he headed to the bigger markets of Europe and the United States.
OPINION: Joseph Parker’s WBO title defence against Hughie Fury appears dead but the promotion has had a bad smell about it for a while now.
Fury has pulled out of the May 6 fight date in Auckland, citing a yetto-be revealed injury and Parker’s promoters are now trying to arrange a worthy last-minute replacement.
That won’t be an easy task. Not that anything is in the murky world of boxing as New Zealand company Duco Events are repeatedly finding now they are running with the wolves.
Don’t forget, Duco suffered the embarrassment of having the Jeff Horne v Manny Pacquiao world welterweight title fight in Brisbane ripped off them for a couple of months before the Pacman discovered the false riches of the Arab market and came running back to eventually sign the deal to fight the Aussie.
Don’t expect Duco to be so welcoming to any u-turn by the Furys. The Brits have presented challenges from the outset and the costly withdrawal will be the final straw. The elevated levels of strain between the two camps were revealed by just over a week ago with suggestions the Furys still weren’t keen on travelling to New Zealand and were trying to convince the Kiwis of taking the fight to Britain.
The unusually low profile of the fight buildup was a pointer to trouble brewing behind the scenes.
Like them or loathe them, Duco present a well-oiled approach to their events, both in promotion and execution. At times they are guilty of overkill.
But the Parker-fury fight was notable for its lack of hype, especially given this was a fairdinkum world title fight.
Things were suspiciously quiet. No TV ads, a lack of media opportunities with the respective fighters and their associates, and no schedule for opportunities in Auckland were pointers that something was amiss.
This was meant to be Parker’s grand hurrah, his first defence but also a farewell fight for his New Zealand fans before he headed to the bigger markets of Europe and the United States.
This will be an expensive exercise unless a suitable opponent can come in late and save a promotion that should have so easily been built around the controversial Fury name and the local hero appeal of Parker.
Sadly, the biggest loser out of this will be Parker who is desperate to enhance his place among the elite of the sport’s glamour division.
Fury represented a real opportunity for the Kiwi to make a statement for the all-important British market which is the hotbed for heavyweights right now.
Parker will have to try to achieve that in other ways. But the best way to do that is offshore.
He should take a positive from this Fury fiasco and see it as a message that, yes, it is time fly the coop, escape the comforts of home and be a more worldly figure in a global sport.
It’s time for Parker to vent his fury overseas.