Without the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph Parker's chances of fighting in New Zealand anytime soon were bleak.
But manager David Higgins has revealed to Newshub that promoter Eddie Hearn has granted special dispensation for Team Parker to stage a fight at home.
While mentioning Auckland, Wellington and Rotorua as potential locations for Parker's second fight of 2020, Higgins confirmed he prefers to stage the fight in Queenstown.
New Zealand's tourism capital has been hit in the financial guts by the coronavirus pandemic, with thousands of jobs at risk.
Higgins and Parker spent several days in Queenstown last week, and while not wanting to 'jump the gun', the Duco boss was encouraged by the city's motivation to get off its knees.
Higgins tells Newshub a fight in Queenstown makes financial sense as it looks to kickstart the tourism industry.
"There have been huge job losses across that whole sector, and it'll be a real struggle for tourism and event companies to bounce back," Higgins notes.
"To try and stage something by September will take some bold decision-making, but that will create that entertainment hope, revenue for suppliers, and jobs for people in events and tourism.
"We are hoping we can find a coalition of the willing to put on a worldwide event, promoting New Zealand tourism and providing jobs to those in the industry."
But Higgins warns that any fight staged in New Zealand under the current live-crowd restrictions would require financial backing.
The 40-year-old says. without a decent sponsorship package, a Joseph Parker fight in the New Zealand market won't make any commercial sense.
Without that backing, the former WBO heavyweight champion would sit out, until international border restrictions are lifted.
"Joseph wants to fight, fans want to see live sport and broadcasters want live content, so we would like to see what we can do safely as soon as possible.
"If we can only stage an event with a live crowd of between one and 500 people, our budget is a fraction of what it normally is, so it then becomes a matter of making that up through sponsorship and/or cost reduction.
"It's a matter of talking to major players who care about the region and asking for help.
"In return, they will be promoted and we will use local suppliers, attracting visitors and tourism dollars into the region, and we will put the region on worldwide and domestic television.
"We aren't looking for something for nothing, we are looking for leaders who will back the project and they will reap the reward of the ongoing investment from it."
That's why Queenstown makes sense. The city is banking on domestic tourism for the foreseeable future and the draw of a top-five heavyweight boxer could bring big spenders with it.
Mayor Jim Boult tells Newshub he is excited about the opportunity to bring a big event to his city, but stresses the Government would need to step up and offer financial respite.
Higgins believes it's a no-brainer, and whether that investment comes from Government, local business or the private sector, the pros far outweigh the cons.
"It would bring in a lot of smart money through domestic tourism. It would put the region's tourism activities on the map domestically to maybe up to a million viewers.
"Those viewers can't travel internationally at the moment, so they may choose to pick that region for their travel.
"It'll pump revenue into suppliers, who sorely need the work at the moment - it will save jobs.
"Queenstown is dependent on tourism type jobs. There is a lot of carnage there right now and if we can make it happen, it will tick a lot of boxes"
Higgins pinpointed the proposed event as an opportunity for the country to lead the way for event and tourism industries all over the globe.
If the September date comes to fruition, the Kiwi could be the first major heavyweight boxer to return to the ring after COVID-19.
Higgins believes that would bring a lot of eyes and provide a feel-good moment for a region so desperately in need of good news.
"I hope we find a meeting of minds and we can make some history by displaying to the world a quality worldwide event early on, coming out from a global pandemic.
"There is a good story there for New Zealand, as well as huge benefits for local tourism and the event economy."
Higgins refuses to speculate on a potential opponent, but revealed several weeks ago that an all-Kiwis fight with Junior Fa was off the table.
Australian Lucas Browne now seems the favoured choice.
