12-11-2017, 09:36 AM
Joseph Parker says unification fight deal with Anthony Joshua 'close to being locked in'
Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker are on a heavyweight boxing title fight collision course.
Joseph Parker believes he's close to sealing a world heavyweight boxing title unification fight deal with Anthony Joshua, and Cardiff's Principality Stadium is gaining traction as a March 31 venue.
Negotiations continue to have WBO champion Parker and WBA and IBF champion Joshua clash with only the percentage points over the split of the purse holding up proceedings.
Parker, who wants 35 per cent of the net profit, told ESPN he believed they were making progress and he was confident a fight would eventuate.
Veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum, who has a business interest in Joseph Parker, is backing the Kiwi's chances against Anthony Joshua in a fight he believes will happen in Cardiff in March.
"Negotiations are going good. I think we're close to locking something in. They're stuck at 30 percent [of the split], we're stuck at 35, so it's just finding the middle ground," Parker told ESPN on Monday (NZT).
I think the Joshua fight can go ahead early next year when both teams are locked in and happy.
"When we can find a free date, a time in March, then we can definitely make it happen.
"We'll take 35 per cent, which means Joshua will take 65, which is nearly double me, so I think that's a fair deal because he's the bigger draw card and he has two belts and I have one. I think that's reasonable and fair.
"I think we're very close. I'm excited as it's a chance to showcase my skills in the UK more."
Parker believed a unification fight had the potential to be bigger than Joshua's blockbuster scrap with former champion Wladimir Klitchko at Wembley earlier this year.
"The Klitschko-Joshua fight was a great fight. A legend and an up-and-coming fighter going at it. It was a great fight for all of us to see," Parker told ESPN.
"But there's just something special about a unification fight. We haven't had a unified champion for a while, and there's something special about a unification. I have a good feeling about this."
British newspapers on Monday (NZT) were nominating Welsh city Cardiff on March 31 as the preferred venue and date. That holds 78,000 fans and means a massive pay day beckons.
The latest revelations back up earlier claims by Bob Arum, the veteran American boxing promoter who has a co-promotional deal with Parker's Kiwi handlers Duco Events to look after the New Zealand heavyweight's interests.
"It seems to me with a little tugging and so forth, they can do 2/3 and 1/3 and that's what I think is going to happen," Arum told the Los Angeles Times, also believing the huge Cardiff stadium, with its retractable roof, was the likely venue.
"I give Parker a shot with Joshua. Joshua doesn't have a chin, man. Parker, you can hit him with a baseball bat and nothing happens.
"Now, I don't say Parker is the second coming of [Vasyl] Lomachenko, but he has a really good chin. He's a tough guy, and he hits OK. Joshua's been hurt in a lot of fights. I don't demean him, but Parker has a hell of a chance."
- Stuff
Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker are on a heavyweight boxing title fight collision course.
Joseph Parker believes he's close to sealing a world heavyweight boxing title unification fight deal with Anthony Joshua, and Cardiff's Principality Stadium is gaining traction as a March 31 venue.
Negotiations continue to have WBO champion Parker and WBA and IBF champion Joshua clash with only the percentage points over the split of the purse holding up proceedings.
Parker, who wants 35 per cent of the net profit, told ESPN he believed they were making progress and he was confident a fight would eventuate.
Veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum, who has a business interest in Joseph Parker, is backing the Kiwi's chances against Anthony Joshua in a fight he believes will happen in Cardiff in March.
"Negotiations are going good. I think we're close to locking something in. They're stuck at 30 percent [of the split], we're stuck at 35, so it's just finding the middle ground," Parker told ESPN on Monday (NZT).
I think the Joshua fight can go ahead early next year when both teams are locked in and happy.
"When we can find a free date, a time in March, then we can definitely make it happen.
"We'll take 35 per cent, which means Joshua will take 65, which is nearly double me, so I think that's a fair deal because he's the bigger draw card and he has two belts and I have one. I think that's reasonable and fair.
"I think we're very close. I'm excited as it's a chance to showcase my skills in the UK more."
Parker believed a unification fight had the potential to be bigger than Joshua's blockbuster scrap with former champion Wladimir Klitchko at Wembley earlier this year.
"The Klitschko-Joshua fight was a great fight. A legend and an up-and-coming fighter going at it. It was a great fight for all of us to see," Parker told ESPN.
"But there's just something special about a unification fight. We haven't had a unified champion for a while, and there's something special about a unification. I have a good feeling about this."
British newspapers on Monday (NZT) were nominating Welsh city Cardiff on March 31 as the preferred venue and date. That holds 78,000 fans and means a massive pay day beckons.
The latest revelations back up earlier claims by Bob Arum, the veteran American boxing promoter who has a co-promotional deal with Parker's Kiwi handlers Duco Events to look after the New Zealand heavyweight's interests.
"It seems to me with a little tugging and so forth, they can do 2/3 and 1/3 and that's what I think is going to happen," Arum told the Los Angeles Times, also believing the huge Cardiff stadium, with its retractable roof, was the likely venue.
"I give Parker a shot with Joshua. Joshua doesn't have a chin, man. Parker, you can hit him with a baseball bat and nothing happens.
"Now, I don't say Parker is the second coming of [Vasyl] Lomachenko, but he has a really good chin. He's a tough guy, and he hits OK. Joshua's been hurt in a lot of fights. I don't demean him, but Parker has a hell of a chance."
- Stuff