Hearn: Let’s have a chinwag
Eddie Hearn won’t give Joseph Parker his desired 35 per cent of a fight purse, but says a unification bout deal with Anthony Joshua is close.
Parker’s promoter David Higgins insisted that a 35 per cent cut was their final offer to Joshua’s boss Hearn as they called out the IBF and WBA champion, accusing him of having a ‘‘glass chin’’.
While Hearn appeared bemused by the promotional video that featured Joshua being knocked to the canvas by a series of opponents, it seems to have helped the cause of gaining his attention and that of the UK boxing market.
‘‘It’s not a million miles away but it ain’t happening at 65-35,’’ Hearn told IFV TV as the prospect of WBO champion Parker getting a unification fight continued to draw headlines.
‘‘I would like to make the fight ... we are close, we are close.’’
When asked if he would see a 75-25 split in profits to Joshua as fair, Hearn didn’t hesitate: ‘‘No, I think that probably undervalues Joseph Parker.’’
Hearn said Parker’s belt deserved respect but the reality was he brought little else ‘‘to the pot’’ other than New Zealand TV rights.
‘‘There is an opportunity here for Joseph Parker to make a huge amount of money and also, if he wins, be the hottest thing in the heavyweight division.
‘‘So we feel like we are being very fair. And we are giving him a great opportunity. We respect his belt but if he really wants the fight he will take the fight. If not, he will yap, yap, yap and Higgins will yap, yap, yap and then they will fight Lucas Browne for a million dollars, if that.
‘‘So what it comes down to is how much ambition you have got and how much you really believe it? Because if you really believe you can knock out Anthony Joshua ... like you keep saying he’s got a glass chin, he’s this, he’s that, ... take the fight mate for a load of millions and probably double your money in the next fight if you win.’’
Hearn believes if Parker can beat Joshua he could earn himself ‘‘an eightdigit’’ pay day for his next fight.
‘‘They aren’t just going to hand over the belt. But they have to gamble on what this gives Joseph Parker. It will change his life ... that’s the carrot.’’
Higgins hailed his unorthodox ways as a major success in trying to keep this fight alive.
‘‘The No 1 job of a boxing promoter is to put a fight on the map, get people talking about it and create a rivalry. The press conference was a bit blunt-force but dammit, it worked well. I’d say it was the most effective press conference we have run in terms of the global media interest generated,’’ Higgins told Stuff.
‘‘The fans are baying for the fight. Eddie says he doesn’t want to negotiate through the media and then he makes his first sort of offer via the media.
‘‘You can tell they want the event, they just want to pay as little as possible. They want to negotiate secretly for that very reason. We have no problem being open about the ratios, that’s the way we would like to conduct it.’’