Choice of referee looms large in Parker fight
Joseph Parker’s fight with Dillian Whyte in London is less than two weeks away, but the small matter of the referee still has to be sorted.
In April, when the Kiwi heavyweight lost his WBO title to Anthony Joshua, Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone’s failure to let them fight in close was widely criticised, and promoter David Higgins is eager to ensure that doesn’t happen again. Given he had to lobby hard for a change of referee in Parker’s previous bout – a win over Hughie Fury in September 2017 – Higgins hopes there won’t be any drama this time as the British Boxing Board of Control makes its decision.
‘‘We’ll give them a benefit of the doubt, and within seven days or so they’ll nominate judges and a referee and we’ll have a look at them, we’ll analyse them and we’ll have an opportunity to object, or not.’’
While he’s been making plenty of noise about the refereeing appointment, Higgins hasn’t lost any sleep over it – or over what happened against Joshua in Cardiff in April.
‘‘If Joseph can beat Dillian Whyte, and we’re looking for a rematch against Joshua, it gives us some credibility when we say, ‘hey, we’re looking for another crack’.’’
Ideally, Higgins wants the referee for this month’s fight to hail from a neutral country, but he’s willing to compromise if a British referee proves the best pick, even though they and Whyte would share a nationality.
‘‘Let me put it this way,’’ he said. ‘‘I’d take a competent British referee over an incompetent Italian, if I had my time again.’’
It was announced yesterday that the WBO international and WBC silver belts will be up for grabs in London, but what’s really at stake is the chance for either fighter to position themselves as the primary challenger to Joshua, who holds four of the five world championship belts.