Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker has “agreed to terms” with South African boxer Francois Botha for a fight in May.
The fight is being organised by Parker’s promoters Duco Events and will take place in New Zealand. Auckland and Hamilton are being touted as possible venues.
"We are dealing with Botha's representative and have agreed terms. We have been talking to them for a few weeks now. We just need to get the contract squared away" David Higgins of Duco Events told Fairfax Media.
Parker’s manager Sir Bob Jones has quit over the matchup, believing it is not a suitable fight for Parker to take on.
The Kiwi heavyweight is now on the hunt for a new manager.
Duco Events say Botha is a good fight to take from a promotional point of view.
“Obviously there is a show business, entertainment element and to have a really big show which enables us to pay Joseph the big purse, we need to tick the entertainment, showmanship type box as well as look for a quality opponent. I think Mr Botha ticks both of those boxes," Higgins says.
In the meantime Parker is remaining active in the ring; his next fight takes place on on Thursday night against Junior Pati in Christchurch.
3 News
source: newshub archive
