Hughie’s heading home for title bout

HUGHIE Fury insists he will shock the world and prove the doubters wrong when he finally takes on Joseph Parker for the WBO heavyweight title at the Manchester Arena on September 23.

The two were originally set to meet in New Zealand in May, but an injury forced Fury to pull out of the fight.

The bout has now been re-arranged, with Stockport-born Fury getting home advantage against reigning champion Parker.

Both men are unbeaten in their respective careers, and Fury is excited to challenge for the title in Manchester.

“I’m going to shock the world and prove all my doubters wrong and what better place to do it than in my home city of Manchester,” he said.

“Parker is a good fighter and I’ve no doubt we’ll both bring our A-game on fight night, but I can’t wait to be crowned world champion.”

Parker went on to face Razvan Cojanu in May after Fury pulled out of the original fight, and while he is looking forward to defending his belt on enemy soil, he believes he may have more fans in attendance than his opponent.

“I’m excited that the next defence of my WBO world title will be in England because it is now the home of heavyweight boxing and I need to be fighting there regularly,” he said.

“I believe that with so many Kiwis and Samoans living in the UK, I may even have more supporters in the crowd on fight night than Hughie Fury!”