Parker-Fury Will Still Go Ahead Despite Visa Issue, Says Duco

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The Director of Duco Events, David Higgins, has been left lamenting a double blow to the lead up to the Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury fight taking place in Auckland on May 6.

Hughie Fury’s father and trainer, Peter Fury, had his visa denied by New Zealand immigration on Wednesday morning due to a chequered past which saw him spend time in jail in the mid-nineties.

Higgins said it was a disappointment.

“We heard the news this morning, we’re a little disappointed of course but the fight’s going to go ahead as planned on May 6, Parker-Fury,” Higgins told Newshub.

Peter Fury is also trainer of nephew and former world champion Tyson Fury and while Higgins said his absence would be a blow to the Fury camp, it would ultimately make little difference into how Hughie performed in the fight.

“Hughie is unbeaten and an English amateur champion and he was trained by Peter Fury so he’s got those skills that Tyson Fury has. Peter Fury is the second best trainer in the world so you can’t underestimate what Hughie will bring. Hughie has fought without Peter in his corner before in New York, so we’ll see what happens.”

In addition to Wednesday’s developments, Higgins also revealed that the New Zealand Government had rejected Duco’s requests for sponsorship assistance.

“We did put in an application in quite comprehensive to look for some sponsorship support and in return the benefits of global promotion and everything that comes with it, we received a letter advising that no there would not be any support.”

The same situation occurred before the Andy Ruiz fight in December with the New Zealand Government refusing to offer assistance. Subsequently, Duco Events had to seek help from the Samoan Government.

And Higgins said the decision could maybe be put down to New Zealand not used to having a stronghold in a non-traditional sports market.

“I think what Joseph Parker’s achieved is pretty ground-breaking and its bringing viewership from countries that never knew New Zealand existed.

“New Zealand’s traditionally been strong in quite traditional Commonwealth sports like rugby and cricket but boxing is massive in other parts of the world; Eastern Europe, Latin America, parts of Asia as well as those traditional economies.

“It’s an Olympic sports, 150+ countries compete in it so it offers something quite different, maybe it’ll take more time for New Zealand to get used to what that means.”

 

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