Parker set for lucrative TV deal

Joseph Parker’s handlers have linked with an American sports broadcasting distribution company that gives the heavyweight’s planned world title fight in New Zealand a potential global audience of nearly 600m households.

Duco Events bosses Dean Lonergan and David Higgins are rapidly advancing plans around Parker’s proposed fight against Andy Ruiz in Auckland for the WBO heavyweight title on December 10.

Linking with Fight Sports, who have been involved in the complicated TV fight game for almost 20 years, allows them to crack the crucial United States market where an estimated 80m households beckon along with 80m mobile phone users.

Fight Sports also offer access to boxing-hungry audiences in 100 countries across six continents.

There are further opportunities available in Canada and Mexico through the connections of Ruiz’s veteran promoter Bob Arum who LOnergan and Higgins have a blossoming relationship with.

Lonergan sees the broadcasting breakthrough as crucial to Duco’s hopes to fund the historic fight via New Zealand sponsorships, describing the costs as ‘‘extremely expensive’’.

Duco Events still have to get the fight sanctioned by the WBO. Without a belt on the line, the fight won’t take place. That process will unfold at the organisation’s annual conference in Puerto Rico over the next few days with Lonergan in attendance along with Arum’s associates and doing everything possible to make the fight happen in New Zealand.

‘‘The response we’ve had to this fight has been very good but we need a lot more,’’ Lonergan said of potential backers.

‘‘We believe this TV deal can provide the platform to make this fight a financial reality. I don’t think there will have been an event in a very long time in New Zealand, if ever, that would get more eyeballs on it than this one.

‘‘This presents massive opportunities.’’

Lonergan said China was the booming market for boxing broadcasting and had a potential of 400m households alone which should prove attractive to sponsors.

Getting a broad footprint in the United States was achievable via Fight Sports, as they used 15 different distribution platforms to broadcast coast to coast.

‘‘The complexities of the American distribution system make it incredibly hard to crack but we can do it with this fight and this connection,’’ Lonergan said.

Fight Sports also brought huge numbers in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa and Latin America.

They entered the fight broadcasting business in 1997 through boxing but have expanded into MMA, martial arts, kickboxing and have enjoyed relationships with some of the biggest players and events in the fight game.

"We believe this TV deal can provide the platform to make this fight a financial reality." Dean Lonergan