Joseph Parker

[diehard]

Here's the entire piece:

Are the IBF's rules the reason why heavyweights are rejecting the Hrgovic bout?

Is the real reason for heavyweights flatly refusing to engage in IBF final eliminators due to the IBF’s own rules?

The IBF had lots of fighters refusing to engage in final eliminators against Kubrat Pulev (due to them only receiving a 25% purse split – i.e. Jarrell Miller, Dillian Whyte etc.).

And more recently, the likes of Michael Hunter, Luis Ortiz & Joseph Parker have refused to participate in a final eliminator against Filip Hrgovic.

It’s impossible to deny the likes of Dillian Whyte should have been the massive A-side over Kubrat Pulev. The same applies to Parker, Ortiz & Hunter over Hrgovic.

And fighters accustomed to receiving millions of dollars per bout, like Ortiz & Parker, won’t even consider fighting Filip Hrgovic for peanuts.

I’ve laboured over this point before, but I think it’s serious flaw with the IBF’s rules, because fights won’t happen if fighters aren’t being paid their worth.

Anyway, according to the IBF’s rules, Luis Ortiz and Joseph Parker are rated below Filip Hrgovic, with the Croatian rated 3rd.

Based on the IBF’s rules for final eliminators, the highest rated fighter (ranked 3rd or below) receives 60% of the purse split, with the lower ranked fighter only receiving 40%.

If Hrgovic was rated 1st or 2nd by the IBF, he’d be entitled to 75% of the purse split if he was to engage in a final eliminator against a lower ranked fighter (who’d only receive 25%).

Basically, is it reasonable for fans to expect the likes of Hunter, Parker and Ortiz to take pay cuts and receive a smaller purse than a commercially unpopular anonymous fighter like Filip Hrgovic?

hrgovic was so highly ranked before he had beat a pulse or being in a meaningfull fight... because of that there is a Croatian whos best win is arguably mansour in 2018 commanding the big split against guys that have been grinding out tough fights.