11-05-2016, 09:50 AM
Auckland funding U-turn leaves Joseph Parker's world title fight on the ropes
The training goes on while the waiting goes on for New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker to find the venue for his WBO title fight.
Hopes to stage Joseph Parker's world title fight in New Zealand are on the ropes again after another major financial blow.
A late decision by Auckland City's events arm Ateed to withdraw funding has left promoters Duco Events scrambling to find a "significant" amount to get the December 10 fight across the line.
It seems the issue has become too political for Auckland under new mayor Phil Goff, much the way a backlash left Duco doing a U-turn on applying for assistance from the government's Major Events funding arm.
Duco co-owner Dean Lonergan said the necessary finances for an Auckland fight, which will see Parker fight Mexican Andy Ruiz for the WBO belt, had been secured until the bombshell arrived on Thursday evening.
"Up till 5pm Thursday this fight was 100 per cent guaranteed coming to Auckland due to the fact we had a number of sponsors come on board with one of the major ones being Ateed," Lonergan said.
"We've been talking with them for a number of weeks putting together a package that to them made sense, based around visitation, tourism messages and feelgood factors of having the fight in Auckland.
"Unfortunately at 5pm on Thursday, Ateed rang us to say that they were no longer going to participate. So we are back to where we were about a week ago."
The threat of Parker giving up home advantage and having to fight Ruiz in the United States under the wing of American promoter Bob Arum is now very real.
Arum caused a flurry on Thursday when he said from Las Vegas he believed the financials had been sorted to have the fight in New Zealand.
Duco denied that at the time and Lonergan said circumstances had sadly proved them right.
"The reason why we don't come out and confirm these things when other people have jumped the gun is because nothing is a done deal until all the paperwork is signed, regardless of all the good intent in the world," he said.
"We will now go back to the drawing board and try and find ways to make it happen. Sometimes the political and media environment doesn't make it easy. We have only 36 days to go, so the clock is ticking."
He said there was still enough time to make it happen if they could sort the financials. They were determined to try to do that with a decision needed early next week.
"The easiest option of all is to take it offshore and put it back here through pay-per-view with zero risk. But we want Joseph fighting here if we can make that happen."
Ateed have set a precedent in supporting Duco's boxing promotions, with a "small contribution" to help ensure Parker's crucial IBF eliminator against Carlos Takam was held in Auckland in May.
Ateed confirmed on Friday there would be no funding for the world title fight with boss Brett O'Riley issuing a statement, saying: "Ateed, on behalf of Auckland Council, will not be making a financial contribution to the world title fight which is expected to be in Auckland in December."
O'Riley had previously been enthused about the project, saying they would throw "hundreds of thousands of dollars" at it.
Ateed confirmed they are forecast to spend $7.9 million in the 2016/2017 financial year, on behalf of Auckland Council, on major events in Auckland.
Fairfax understands the U-turn means a desperate search for as much as $500,000.Lonergan said they had enjoyed a great relationship with Ateed, who also back Duco's NRL Nines, but they were frustrated by this change of heart.
"We understand that circumstances change and I have no doubts that the recent local body elections probably played a part," Lonergan said.
"What David Higgins and myself find frustrating is that Ateed itself stands for Auckland tourism and events and economic development and we believe this event fits into that acronym on all areas."
He said statistics showed 50 per cent of their boxing crowds came from outside of host cities and, with control of the fight broadcast, Duco could tailor Auckland's message to the region's three biggest tourist markets - the rest of New Zealand, the eastern seaboard of Australia, and China.
Suggestions of Auckland funding the event drew a sharp response from several areas, including Howick councillor Dick Quax, a former New Zealand middle distance running great, who said he opposed "throwing public money at a private event" and questioned if it is a "proper title fight".
"Did anyone go to Zaire following the rumble in the jungle between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. I don't think so," Quax said.
Lonergan was bemused by Quax's stance.
"I find it astounding and flattering, all at once strangely enough, that councillor Quax, chose to compare this fight to Ali v Foreman in Zaire. Flattering from the point of view that it was one of the greatest fights of all time but astounding about his comments on people visiting Zaire.
"Is councillor Quax seriously comparing the dictatorship of Zaire under Mobutu to Auckland City? And has councillor Quax never heard of a little tourist town called Las Vegas, which for the last 25 years and longer has seen a major part of its tourist promotion globally based around boxing.
"I guess in the sometimes usual Kiwi negativity of Mr Quax, it's easier to look at Kinshasa for an example to prove his point as opposed to the city of Las Vegas whose lifeblood is tourism and who do it better than anyone else in the world."
Since 2011, Ateed-sponsored major events have contributed $247m to the regional economy, including 1.548m visitor nights.
Events backed by Ateed include:
2011 Rugby World Cup
ITU Triathlon World Cup (2011), world championships (2012)
Volvo Ocean Race
World Rally Championship
Ultimate Waterman ($1.2 million in partnership with the government)
World BMX championships
World Softball Championship
ICC Cricket World Cup
Fifa under-20s men's World Cup
World Masters Games
Pasifika, Lantern festivals
NZ Fashion Week
Auckland Marathon
Arts Festival
Funding criteria: Expand Auckland's economy, grow visitor nights, enhance Auckland's viability, increase international exposure for Auckland
- Stuff
The training goes on while the waiting goes on for New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker to find the venue for his WBO title fight.
Hopes to stage Joseph Parker's world title fight in New Zealand are on the ropes again after another major financial blow.
A late decision by Auckland City's events arm Ateed to withdraw funding has left promoters Duco Events scrambling to find a "significant" amount to get the December 10 fight across the line.
It seems the issue has become too political for Auckland under new mayor Phil Goff, much the way a backlash left Duco doing a U-turn on applying for assistance from the government's Major Events funding arm.
Duco co-owner Dean Lonergan said the necessary finances for an Auckland fight, which will see Parker fight Mexican Andy Ruiz for the WBO belt, had been secured until the bombshell arrived on Thursday evening.
"Up till 5pm Thursday this fight was 100 per cent guaranteed coming to Auckland due to the fact we had a number of sponsors come on board with one of the major ones being Ateed," Lonergan said.
"We've been talking with them for a number of weeks putting together a package that to them made sense, based around visitation, tourism messages and feelgood factors of having the fight in Auckland.
"Unfortunately at 5pm on Thursday, Ateed rang us to say that they were no longer going to participate. So we are back to where we were about a week ago."
The threat of Parker giving up home advantage and having to fight Ruiz in the United States under the wing of American promoter Bob Arum is now very real.
Arum caused a flurry on Thursday when he said from Las Vegas he believed the financials had been sorted to have the fight in New Zealand.
Duco denied that at the time and Lonergan said circumstances had sadly proved them right.
"The reason why we don't come out and confirm these things when other people have jumped the gun is because nothing is a done deal until all the paperwork is signed, regardless of all the good intent in the world," he said.
"We will now go back to the drawing board and try and find ways to make it happen. Sometimes the political and media environment doesn't make it easy. We have only 36 days to go, so the clock is ticking."
He said there was still enough time to make it happen if they could sort the financials. They were determined to try to do that with a decision needed early next week.
"The easiest option of all is to take it offshore and put it back here through pay-per-view with zero risk. But we want Joseph fighting here if we can make that happen."
Ateed have set a precedent in supporting Duco's boxing promotions, with a "small contribution" to help ensure Parker's crucial IBF eliminator against Carlos Takam was held in Auckland in May.
Ateed confirmed on Friday there would be no funding for the world title fight with boss Brett O'Riley issuing a statement, saying: "Ateed, on behalf of Auckland Council, will not be making a financial contribution to the world title fight which is expected to be in Auckland in December."
O'Riley had previously been enthused about the project, saying they would throw "hundreds of thousands of dollars" at it.
Ateed confirmed they are forecast to spend $7.9 million in the 2016/2017 financial year, on behalf of Auckland Council, on major events in Auckland.
Fairfax understands the U-turn means a desperate search for as much as $500,000.Lonergan said they had enjoyed a great relationship with Ateed, who also back Duco's NRL Nines, but they were frustrated by this change of heart.
"We understand that circumstances change and I have no doubts that the recent local body elections probably played a part," Lonergan said.
"What David Higgins and myself find frustrating is that Ateed itself stands for Auckland tourism and events and economic development and we believe this event fits into that acronym on all areas."
He said statistics showed 50 per cent of their boxing crowds came from outside of host cities and, with control of the fight broadcast, Duco could tailor Auckland's message to the region's three biggest tourist markets - the rest of New Zealand, the eastern seaboard of Australia, and China.
Suggestions of Auckland funding the event drew a sharp response from several areas, including Howick councillor Dick Quax, a former New Zealand middle distance running great, who said he opposed "throwing public money at a private event" and questioned if it is a "proper title fight".
"Did anyone go to Zaire following the rumble in the jungle between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. I don't think so," Quax said.
Lonergan was bemused by Quax's stance.
"I find it astounding and flattering, all at once strangely enough, that councillor Quax, chose to compare this fight to Ali v Foreman in Zaire. Flattering from the point of view that it was one of the greatest fights of all time but astounding about his comments on people visiting Zaire.
"Is councillor Quax seriously comparing the dictatorship of Zaire under Mobutu to Auckland City? And has councillor Quax never heard of a little tourist town called Las Vegas, which for the last 25 years and longer has seen a major part of its tourist promotion globally based around boxing.
"I guess in the sometimes usual Kiwi negativity of Mr Quax, it's easier to look at Kinshasa for an example to prove his point as opposed to the city of Las Vegas whose lifeblood is tourism and who do it better than anyone else in the world."
Since 2011, Ateed-sponsored major events have contributed $247m to the regional economy, including 1.548m visitor nights.
Events backed by Ateed include:
2011 Rugby World Cup
ITU Triathlon World Cup (2011), world championships (2012)
Volvo Ocean Race
World Rally Championship
Ultimate Waterman ($1.2 million in partnership with the government)
World BMX championships
World Softball Championship
ICC Cricket World Cup
Fifa under-20s men's World Cup
World Masters Games
Pasifika, Lantern festivals
NZ Fashion Week
Auckland Marathon
Arts Festival
Funding criteria: Expand Auckland's economy, grow visitor nights, enhance Auckland's viability, increase international exposure for Auckland
- Stuff