Parker’s world title fight could go from Auckland to the US

Joseph Parker’s historic world heavyweight title fight in New Zealand is under threat with contingency plans to switch the event to the United States already being made.

Duco Events and Top Rank, the promoters of Parker’s opponent Andy Ruiz, have agreed Auckland as the preferred venue for December 10.

But the reality of organising an event of this magnitude in such a short time frame is already biting and could see the Kiwis reluctantly hand over hosting rights to Top Rank boss Bob Arum, who has raised the prospect of Mexican Ruiz and his Hispanic popularity drawing a crowd of up to 80,000 at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Texas.

Duco have less than two weeks to come up with a venue and the financial guarantees or the fight rights will be handed to Arum.

Arum is promoting Manny Pacquiao’’s WBO welterweight defence against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas next month and wants to announce details of the Ruiz versus Parker fight at a breakfast there on November 5 in front of the world boxing media.

‘‘I made a deal with Duco that they have first option to do the fight in New Zealand and I stand by that,’’ Arum told Fairfax Media from Las Vegas. ‘‘But if Dean Lonergan tells me for any reason he is unable or doesn’t want to do the fight in New Zealand, we are ready to do the fight in the United States without any question. We are ready, willing and able ... it would be a blessing to have the fight held in the United States. I know it will generate huge interest here. The ball is in Dean’s court, he has the first option to do the fight. But I’m ready if he can’t.’’

Lonergan said they wouldn’t give up hosting rights lightly, especially with the home advantage that would give Parker. But they also had to be commercially sensible.

‘‘The time frame is the issue,’’ he said after getting the fight sanctioned at the WBO annual conference in Puerto Rico. We are in discussions with a huge array of people. They all have to come together in a very tight space of time.

‘‘Obviously it’s a massive event, it’s a historical event for New Zealand and it’s something that David Higgins and myself are incredibly keen to make happen. But we are first and foremost a business and it has to be commercially viable.

‘‘We would much prefer to have the fight here and in the long term interests of Joseph Parker we want to give him any advantage we can to win this fight. But at the end of the day we have fiscal responsibilities to worry about. If we can’t make it happen here and Bob wants to take the commercial risk, well, so be it ... we’ll shrug our shoulders and move on.‘‘

A shift to the US would give Top Rank global broadcast rights, with Duco handling the New Zealand, Australia and Polish rights.