BritainHeadline NewsWild Geese

Parker v Fury could take place in Manchester

Duco Events won the purse bid for Joseph Parker’s WBO heavyweight title defence against Hughie Fury [20(10)-0] – but they may cede home advantage.

It had looked like the fight for the belt once held by Fury’s cousin Tyson would take place in Parker’s home country of New Zealand in April 1st, however his promoters have stressed that they are considering a number of options.

One of these options is for Parker [22(18)-0] to defend his belt in Fury’s home city of Manchester.

Duco director David Higgins explained to Sky Sports that “we are going to control the show, but we can hold it anywhere.”

Cost will be a major factor, and he described how “New Zealand obviously is an option, Auckland perhaps maybe a preferred option, but it has got to stack up and the costs for each show are mounting. This show is going to cost considerably more than the last show put on and so our job now is to value each location.”

“I’ve had an inquiry out of Singapore. “I’ve actually had a couple of suggestions and would look at potentially Manchester, Hughie Fury’s hometown.”

Indeed it is not just financial reasons that would see the event brought to England, with Parker’s people believing that it could be a worthwhile tactical move to improve their man’s standing in the division.

Parker won the title on home soil in December, narrowly outpointing Mexican-American Andy Ruiz. However, expansion beyond the Antipodes has always been the plan for the 25 year old who is co-promoted by U.S. giant Top Rank.

Higgins outlined that “Joseph is the current WBO world champion, so him fighting Fury could have considerable value in England, if it’s prime time, and then set up quite a juicy unification against say the winner of Joshua-Klitschko.”

“He is already a star in New Zealand, becoming a star in England is not a bad idea, because it’s such a good market with a big, powerful pay-per-view opportunity.”

“How do you become a star in England? You knock out Englishman and so doing it in New Zealand that would work, but doing it in England could be better to make an impact up there.”

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

x