Outrage as Parker fight called off

Joseph Parker’s WBO heavyweight title fight against Hughie Fury is off after the Englishman pulled out claiming injury under two weeks out from the event in Auckland.

Parker was due to fight Fury in a mandatory defence of his WBO world heavyweight title on May 6.

However, World Boxing Organisation (WBO) president Paco Valcarel said in a tweet yesterday the fight was now off and ‘‘the problem lies within the Fury camp’’.

Parker has been mucked around by the Fury camp throughout the build up. The Kiwi champion has been through an extensive training camp and arrived in New Zealand on Saturday ready to step into the ring next week. Parker’s promoters, Duco Events, fired a shot at the Fury camp for pulling out at such late notice.

‘‘I spoke to the WBO president a minute ago. He said the Furys are claiming to have an injury and therefore we can fight whoever we want when we want as a voluntary defence out of the top 15,’’ Duco co-owner David Higgins said.

Asked about the nature of Fury’s injury, Higgins said: ‘‘I know exactly what it is; their moral compass has broken in half – a nasty fracture of the moral compass. It’s not just Hughie, the whole camp has.

‘‘That’s boxing. Sometimes this sort of thing goes on. They didn’t appear to want to come to New Zealand.’’

Higgins is yet to speak to anyone from the Fury camp. ‘‘I don’t think I’ll bother.’’

Peter Fury, Hughie’s father and trainer, told World Boxing News website he hoped the fight would go ahead at a later date.

‘‘We will be releasing details of the postponement in an announcement shortly,’’ Fury told WBN. ‘‘However, we are looking to put the fight back on in New Zealand as fast as possible.’’

But Higgins ruled out a postponement, saying that Duco had authorisation to push on with alternative plans.

‘‘The WBO clearly gave us permission to take a voluntary defence and that’s what we are going to do,’’ Higgins said. ‘‘The wranglings of the Furys have cost us a lot of time and money so we’re going to take a voluntary. If the Furys provide a medical cer- tificate that is sound then I’ll apologise for being suspicious, but that doesn’t change that fact it’s been very difficult and we would not be in a hurry to work with them again.’’

A decision is yet to be made about whether Parker will still fight on May 6 but finding an opponent willing to step up on two weeks’ notice seems unlikely.

‘‘We’ve got to regroup and look at what we do. We have respect for the paying public so we’ll keep them informed and provide refunds where appropriate but there will be more information tomorrow [Monday],’’ he said.

Higgins also ruled out Parker taking on Australian heavyweight Lucas Brown, who was quick to put his hand up, as he does not sit inside the WBO’s top 15.

The development came just a day after Hughie Fury declared his readiness for the fight in a tough-talking first-person column in Britain’s Mirror newspaper, headlined: ‘‘I’m firing on all cylinders, Joseph Parker won’t know what’s hit him’’. ‘‘With just two weeks until I take on Joseph Parker, everything has gone well in training. I know every fighter says that, even when it’s not true, but I’m raring to go,’’ Fury wrote.

Duco pledged $4.1m to stage the promotion, pipping Fury’s promoter Frank Warren in the February purse bid. Parker was set to walk away with US$1.8 million (US) and Fury US$1.2m, the biggest pay cheques of their careers.

The event has been plagued by delays. Originally planned for early April, it was put back a month as Fury had an antidoping hearing postponed. He has to answer to allegations of a failed test for banned substance nandrolone in 2015.

Hughie Fury has not fought since April last year when he extended his record to 20-0 in a laboured win against American Frank Kassi.

This development echoes the troubles endured in trying to get Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko in the ring for a rematch.

Klitschko’s bosses hit out at the Furys then as their fighter effectively lost a year of his ageing career.

‘‘Nobody of us ever wants to deal with this group of people again, especially including myself,’’ Bernd Boente, Klitschko’s manager, said at the time.