Fury wants to take up challenge

British heavyweight Hughie Fury is on the mend and has his sights set firmly on taking up his mandatory challenge for Joseph Parker’s WBO world title.

Fury withdrew just two weeks before the fight citing a back injury and Romanian Razvan Cojanu, the WBO No 14, was rushed in for a voluntary defence to save tonight’s promotion in Manukau.

His father and trainer Peter Fury said Hughie was responding to the physio treatment ordered and was already seeing movement return to his lower back.

‘‘He’s doing all right. He’s been doing a lot of physio work on the left side of his back, he’s been doing a lot of stretching. He’s doing OK, he’s just lightly ticking over at the moment,’’ his father and trainer, Peter Fury, told Boxing News.

‘‘He is positive because he’s having total rest, and the pain has now subsided so he’s responding well to the physio. In the next coming weeks he can start back in the gym and away we go.’’

The Furys are adamant they still hold the mandatory rights to take on Parker and intend to fight the Kiwi providing he gets past Cojanu.

‘‘It has to be [rescheduled]. It’s a genuine injury so it’s a postponement, so we’re looking to get the fight rescheduled,’’ Peter Fury said.

Where and when that happens is the multi-million dollar question.

Parker’s backers Duco Events feel the Furys weren’t genuinely interested in coming to New Zealand and two delays - the fight was originally scheduled for April 1 only for the Brits to renege - are testing their patience.

Duco still hold the $4.1m purse bid for the fight and the rights to stage it where they want. They have found an increasingly tight financial squeeze in New Zealand and, ironically, might have to take the fight to Britain to make it work.