Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury

Last updated

Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury
Parker vs. Fury fight poster.jpg
Date23 September 2017
Venue Manchester Arena, Manchester, UK
Title(s) on the line WBO heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Flag of New Zealand.svg Joseph Parker Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Hughie Fury
Nickname "The Fist of Fury"
Hometown Auckland, New Zealand Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK
Purse £1,100,000 £750,000
Pre-fight record 23–0 (18 KOs) 20–0 (10 KOs)
Age 25 years, 8 months 23 years
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight248+4⁄5 lb (113 kg)231+1⁄2 lb (105 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBO
Heavyweight Champion
TBRB
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
The Ring
No. 5 Ranked Heavyweight		 WBO
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Parker wins via 12-round majority decision (118–110, 118–110, 114–114)

Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury was a professional boxing match contested between undefeated WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, and the WBO mandatory challenger Hughie Fury. [1] The bout took place on 23 September 2017, at the Manchester Arena in Manchester. Parker won the contest by a majority decision, with two judges scoring it 118–110 and the other 114–114. The fight was considered to build Parker's worldwide profile as well as earning him the most money he has received for a boxing fight to date.

Contents

History

Background

In December 2016, David Haye was made mandatory challenger for Parker's world title. However, he chose to fight cruiserweight Tony Bellew in a heavyweight grudge match on pay-per-view. This pushed Hughie Fury to become next in line for a title shot. [2] As speculation grew, confirmation of the Parker versus Fury fight became closer after promoter Frank Warren indicated he would be announcing details of a fight in the coming week. [3] After a deal not taking place between both fighters promoters, the WBO ordered a purse bid to take place at their offices in Puerto Rico the following week, with the winning bidder winning rights to choose the venue and date. [4] Parker's promoters at Duco Events won the purse bid with a winning bid of US$3,000,011, announcing the date settled for 1 April in Auckland, New Zealand. [5]

Higgins, from Duco Events, confirmed the bout would take place at the Spark Arena in New Zealand on 6 May. The reason behind the location was due to Parker enjoying fighting in front of his Kiwi fans. [6] [7] Months prior to the fight, Fury's father and trainer, Peter Fury, was denied a visa entry into New Zealand. This was due to his criminal past, dating back to around 1990 when he was incarcerated for ten years for drug-related offenses. [8] Two days later, Peter was granted a special visa from 28 March to 10 May. [9] But after the disappointing pull-out from Fury, Parker fought replacement Răzvan Cojanu. A frustrating fight for Parker, he extended his undefeated professional record to 23–0 and retained his WBO world heavyweight title belt after a unanimous decision victory. The win stated Parker would now look to fight overseas, aiming the United Kingdom to fight Fury. [10]

With Fury still being the mandatory challenger, a date was organized for the fight to be rescheduled for 23 September in Manchester. A contract was signed by both parties and would take place at Manchester Arena after both fighters were originally due to fight in Auckland in May but Fury pulled out two weeks before the bout citing a back injury as the reason. [11]

Ticket information

Tickets for the fight went on sale on 12 August after Hennessy Sports and Duco Events announced along with the undercard, that general admission tickets would start at a price of £40. Approximately 15,000 tickets went on sale to the general public. They had elected to go with CTS Eventim for distribution of sales. [12] Tickets made available priced from £40, £60, £100, £150, £200, £300 and VIP £600. Although the event was jointly promoted by Hennessy Sports and Duco Events, Hennessy Sports were the lead promoter of the fight.

Controversy

Several issues occurred prior to the fight being announced. The date of the then proposed fight between Parker and Fury came up for discussion and was pushed forward to 6 May after Fury and his team appeared reluctant to travel to New Zealand for the fight scheduled for April. It saw WBO President Francisco Varcarcel take to social media to give Fury until 25 February to finalize the bout, otherwise, he would lose his position to challenge Parker for the world championship. [13]

In late April, the title fight was called off after Fury pulled out claiming an injury less than two weeks out from the event in Auckland. Varcarcel stated the fight was now off and the problem lay within the Fury camp. After announcing the claim it gave Parker the rights to fight whomever he wanted when he wanted as a voluntary defense out of the top 15. [14] Răzvan Cojanu was released as Parker's replacement for the Hughie Fury bout. The result saw the venue downgraded with it shifting from Spark Arena to the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau which holds around 3000. Cojanu was ranked fourteenth giving him a chance to challenge for the world championship. [15]

Five days out from the fight, The British Boxing Board of Control appointed British referee Terry O'Connor, the same official in charge of Fury's last two bouts. Peter Fury had a foul-mouthed exchange with David Higgins at the final press conference in London. It started off with Higgins approaching Fury, who was unhappy with the appointment of British referee O'Connor for the fight. Higgins was then ejected from the press conference by security officials. Overall Higgins' outburst caused a referee change after it began to create noise and headlines. [16]

The fight

Fury failed to capture his first world title after he was outworked by Parker. The fight went the 12 round distance, with two judges scoring the fight 118–110 in favour of Parker and the third judge had it 114–114, giving Parker the win via majority decision. Parker showed Fury respect throughout the fight, having to get through Fury's jab in order to land anything. The opening six rounds saw Fury flicking his jab in to thin air, which caused Parker to think twice before going on the attack. Parker started finding his shots in the latter half. Parker finished strong in the last two rounds as Fury started showing signs of fatigue.

Aftermath

In the post fight, Parker said, "I felt the aggression was good on my side. He was really awkward and his movement was good, but I caught him with the harder punches I felt." Fury was paid £750,000 while Parker took home £1.1 million. [17] [18] [19] [20]

Promoter Mick Hennessy, as with the rest of the Fury camp, was disgusted with the wide scorecards, "This is corruption at its highest level in boxing. I thought it was an absolute masterclass, shades of Ali. Parker wasn't even in the fight. One of the worst decisions I've ever seen." He said he would be appealing the decision. [21] WBO vice-president John Duggan backed the decision to have Parker as the winner. He made it clear that the result would not be investigated or overturned. [22]

Fight card

Confirmed bouts: [23]

Weight ClassWeightvs.MethodRoundTimeNotes
Heavyweight200+ lbs. Flag of New Zealand.svg Joseph Parker def. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Hughie Fury MD12/123:00 Note 1
Lightweight135 lbs. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Joe Murray def. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Matty FaganPTS10/103:00
Bantamweight118 lbs. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Josh Wale def. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Don Broadhurst KO11/12 Note 2
Super welterweight148 lbs. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jimmy Kellydef. Flag of Bulgaria.svg Stiliyan KostovTKO4/122:59 Note 3
Welterweight147 lbs. Flag of Ireland.svg Peter McDonagh def. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Shayne SingletonPTS10/103:00
Super featherweight130 lbs. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Yusuf Safadef. Flag of Lithuania.svg Simas VolosinasPTS6/63:00
Middleweight160 lbs. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jack Cullendef. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Callum IdeTKO2/42:18

^Note 1 For WBO heavyweight title
^Note 2 For British bantamweight title
^Note 3 For WBO Inter-Continental junior middleweight title

Broadcasting

With less than three weeks out from the bout, Hennessy Sports were yet to confirm a television deal. Duco promoter, David Higgins confirmed the fight would be broadcast in New Zealand on the Skys Arena channel at a cost of NZD$39.95 which represents a drop of up to NZD$20 cheaper than Parker's previous fights. Duco Events owned the television rights in Australia and Samoa with Hennessy Sports having the rest of the world to try to engage. [24]

Early September, Hennessy Sports announced their new partnership with YouTube and announced that the title fight between Joseph Parker and Hughie Fury would be shown exclusively live in the United Kingdom and Ireland on a pay-per-view YouTube basis with further countries to be announced later on. A portion of the undercard would also be streamed for free before the main event with a special advance purchase offer price for UKP£9.99 in the United Kingdom and UKP€11.99 in the Republic of Ireland until 17 September. [25]

Days out from the fight, Hennessy Sports announced a list of countries that could view the YouTube broadcast of the fight. It would be available in 23 countries. A number of key territories that could watch the showdown exclusively live were America, Canada and Mexico, plus Argentina, Hong Kong and Italy. Devices such as iPhone, iPad, Smart television, and games consoles could watch the event via their respective YouTube apps. Broadcasting from 6:00 pm United Kingdom time, would be the beginning time for the pre-fight build up. Beforehand, a portion of the undercard will be free-to-view. [26]

International broadcasters
CountryBroadcaster
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina YouTube
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Main Event
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria YouTube
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Sky Arena
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal YouTube
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa TV3
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia YouTube
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Recap

Scorecard

Rocky YoungJohn MadfisTerry O'Connor
ParkerFuryParkerFuryParkerFury
114114118110118110

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References

  1. ↑ "PARKER V FURY WBO WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE SHOWDOWN CONFIRMED FOR 23 SEPTEMBER AT MANCHESTER ARENA". HENNESSY SPORTS. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Jay, Phil D. "Exclusive: Peter Fury confirms Hughie v Joe Parker talks, wants April UK clash". WBN – World Boxing News. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Stephen Foote. "Confirmation of Hughie Fury vs Joseph Parker imminent, claims Fury's promoter". Newshub. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Joseph Parker v Hughie Fury title fight takes another step forward". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury on April 1 in New Zealand". Boxing News 24. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury Lands at Vector Arena on May 6 – Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "Hughie Fury to face Joseph Parker for WBO heavyweight title in New Zealand in May". BBC Sport. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Peter Fury set to miss son Hughie fight Joseph Parker after being denied New Zealand visa". Sky Sports. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Peter Fury Receives Visa, Will Be Present For Joseph Parker Bout – Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "Boxing: Joseph Parker beats Razvan Cojanu to defend WBO heavyweight title". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  11. ↑ "Hughie Fury to fight Joseph Parker for WBO heavyweight title in Manchester on September 23". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "PARKER-FURY UNDERCARD CONFIRMED + FURY PROMO VIDEO". HENNESSY SPORTS. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  13. ↑ "Deadline nears for Joseph Parker v Hughie Fury fight terms". TVNZ. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  14. ↑ Liam Napier. "Joseph Parker fight with Hughie Fury off". Stuff. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  15. ↑ Duncan Johnstone. "Joseph Parker to fight Razvan Cojanu in place of Hughie Fury". Stuff. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "Joseph Parker backs promoter David Higgins as referee change confirmed". Stuff. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "Joseph Parker Retains, Wins Majority Decision Over Hughie Fury – Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "Hughie Fury v Joseph Parker: Parker retains WBO heavyweight title". BBC Sport. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  19. ↑ "Parker edges Fury, eyes bigger and better things". ESPN.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  20. ↑ "Joseph Parker retains WBO heavyweight title with points win over Hughie Fury". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  21. ↑ "Fury's Promoter: Decision For Parker Was "Absolutely Disgusting" – Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  22. ↑ "WBO VP: No Controversy – Parker Deserved Win Over Fury – Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  23. ↑ "BoxRec - event".
  24. ↑ "Joseph Parker discounted in late rush to cash in on world heavyweight title fight". Stuff. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  25. ↑ "HENNESSY SPORTS AND YOUTUBE PARTNER TO ANNOUNCE GROUNDBREAKING PARTNERSHIP TO SHOW PARKER V FURY EXCLUSIVELY LIVE". HENNESSY SPORTS. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  26. ↑ "HENNESSY SPORTS AND YOUTUBE PARTNER TO ANNOUNCE GROUNDBREAKING PARTNERSHIP TO SHOW PARKER V FURY EXCLUSIVELY LIVE". COUNTRIES CONFIRMED THAT ARE SHOWING PARKER V FURY LIVE ON YOUTUBE. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
Preceded by Joseph Parker's bouts
23 September 2017		Succeeded by
Preceded by Hughie Fury's bouts
23 September 2017		Succeeded by
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