“We Are Not Going To Roll Over And Take Short Camp For Short Money”.
It would have been an interesting, possibly very exciting fight, but it seems New Zealand’s Joseph Parker and Dereck Chisora of the UK will not be facing one another; not this spring anyway. Both fighters were very much up for the fight but, as David Higgins, Parker’s promoter, explained to Radio New Zealand, time has run out as he has not received a formal contract for the bout. Higgins says his fighter needed a minimum of nine weeks to get ready for the proposed April 20th fight and that he had no choice but to “pull the pin” on the fight.
“We were dead serious we wanted the fight but unfortunately we have had to pull the pin because time has run out,” Higgins said. “Behind the scenes we have been seeking a formal offer and contract for months and they keep promising such but keep missing deadlines and now it’s at the point where Joseph would be compromised in his preparation so we have pulled the pin. Joseph is not desperate so why should he roll over on other people’s terms and take short camp for short money. It’s a crazy business full of crazy people but in this case we are not going to roll over because some big promoter in Europe thinks he have got no other option.”
Ouch. It is strange that Eddie Hearn, who of course looks after Chisora (and is presumably the “big promoter in Europe” Higgins was speaking of), has not sent out a contract to Team-Parker in adequate time the way Higgins says is the case. Again, it would have been a good fight, maybe even a thriller, but now Parker, unwilling to take the fight with just a seven-week camp, will move on. And Higgins says his fighter is not without options.
“We will come back when the time and the terms are right,” Higgins said.
Who knows, maybe the Parker/Chisora fight can still be made, at a later date. Parker does enjoy fighting over in the UK and Chisora as we know will fight anyone. But in terms of fairness both sides need to sit down and see to it that both fighters get the proper amount of time needed to get ready for the fight. In the meantime, who might Chisora fight on the planned April 20th card Hearn is still working on?