British boxer Dereck Chisora was "very upset" by Joseph Parker's withdrawal from their scheduled bout later this month, according to manager David Haye.
Chisora and Parker were scheduled to go head-to-head in the ring at the O2 Arena in London on October 27 (NZ time), but the Kiwi heavyweight was forced to pull out due to an illness.
Reports say Parker was bitten by a spider and had been unable to train since.
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The fight with Chisora had been in the works for months, with April originally targeted, but stalling from the Chisora camp led to Team Parker pulling out of contract talks.
Once Parker signed a three-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing, Hearn was able to step in and get the fight made.
Chisora had already threatened to pull out of the fight, upset at not being the top billing on the card.
Haye said Chisora was initially furious with the news, but has since turned his attention back to training, with a new opponent set to be named.
"Derek was very, very upset," Haye said, on his Instagram page. "Obviously, he's really geared himself up, he's training hard.
"He's healthy, he really wants to show the world what he's about and Joseph Parker, we believed, would bring out the very best in Derek.
"It's brought the best out of him in training and we just hoped that Joseph Parker would step through those ropes for Derek to prove how good he is in the ring, you know, at The O2 Arena, where he's performed at a world level.
"Everything happens for a reason. Let's just hope we get an opponent as soon as possible that, you know, the fans are happy with and not only that.
"They say styles make fights in the boxing game. We need to get an opponent who is going to really bring the best out in Derek and for Derek to bring out the best in whoever he fights.
"We're going to get an absolute humdinger of a fight.
"To be honest, Derek Chisora took the news as well as he can take it. He was obviously upset at the time.
"A bit frustrated, but, you know, the next morning he was back in the gym, training hard. It hasn't slowed his training regime, as he knows we've given him a list of names, potential names.
"All of the names are dangerous names. They are all world-class recognisable, world-renowned names that he will need to be at his best for."
Promoter Eddie Hearn listed six potential replacements for the bout, including former world champion Alexander Povetkin and Otto Wallin, who lost to Tyson Fury last month.
"Hopefully, within the next 3-4 days, we'll know who Chisora is fighting," Haye said.
"We're talking to multiple parties in the hope that we can get someone to sign on the dotted line and get over here for an absolute barnstormer of a night."
Other fighters in line to fight Chisora are Michael Hunter, Oscar Rivas, Manuel Charr and Martin Bakole.
Hunter has already expressed his interest in facing Chisora, tweeting to urge Hearn to give him a call.
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