Parker agrees to fight Haumono
Rugged Australian veteran Solomon Haumono will be Joseph Parker’s next opponent, with the fight set to take place in Christchurch in July.
Haumono has been calling out Parker for a couple of years and a contract has now been signed to bring them together in the ring.
Details of the fight will be announced today, before the Kiwi heavyweight leaves tomorrow for Dubai and California for a deserved break.
Parker was due to fight in Christchurch last month but the promotion was cancelled when he gained the Carlos Takam fight.
Parker beat Takam in south Auckland on Saturday night in an IBF eliminator to win the mandatory rights to challenge for the world title currently held by Britain’s Anthony Joshua.
Parker’s promoters, Duco Events, are eager to keep Parker busy while he waits for that mandatory fight to eventuate – it won’t happen before November 19 and probably not until next year.
They don’t want him sitting idle and have planned for two fights before November with talk of Parker even appearing on a Joshua undercard in London late in the year to introduce him live to the British scene.
It’s a risky business because if Parker gets beaten in the meantime he will lose his mandatory position, and with it the potential millions that come with a world title fight.
A Haumono fight will have marketing potential on either side of the Tasman. Duco have gained a foothold in the Australian TV market through their management of world-rated Aussie welterweight Jeff Horn.
From Parker’s perspective, if he can’t beat Haumono, he can forget about beating Joshua and while there are dangers, it appeals as a warm-up fight that can also bring in revenue.
Haumono is a 40-year-old who has fought 28 times for 24 wins (21 KOs), 2 losses (1 KO) and 2 draws.
Born in New Zealand of Tongan descent, he made his name in rugby league with a lengthy spell in the NRL and Britain’s Super League, playing 159 games spread between Manly, Wests Tigers, St George, and the London Broncos.
He took up professional boxing in 2000 and has fought mainly limited opponents, though he has made his way to No 12 in the WBA rankings where Parker is at No 10.
The big name on Haumono’s boxing CV is American Kevin Johnson, whom he lost to by a 10th round knockout in 2013.
Parker and Haumono share a common opponent in Brazil’s Marcelo Luiz Nascimento.
Parker beat Nascimento with a seventh round TKO in Germany in 2014 , while Haumono blasted out Nascimento in three rounds in Melbourne a year earlier.
Haumono is supremely fit and is on a four fight winning streak.
But his last win was a selfadmitted unimpressive knockout of Argentina’s Manuel Alberto Pucheta in Brisbane last month.