David Higgins, manager for former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, says a deal to fight Derek Chisora must be reached within 48 hours – in order to finalize a proper fight date.
This past Saturday night in New Zealand, Parker won a tough twelve round unanimous decision over country rival Junior Fa.
Parker and Chisora were scheduled to fight each other in October 2019. The fight fell apart when Parker withdrew due to a suspected spider bite.
In the aftermath of Parker’s fight, words were exchanged with Chisora on social media.
Both sides are interested in the fight, but Higgins wants a deal in place this week.
“There’s about nine weeks and if Joseph would leave New Zealand at the end of this week, there’s only eight weeks, so touch and go,” Higgins told Sky Sports.
“If we’re going to take the fight at only eight weeks, everyone would have to agree terms right now in the next 48 hours. There are discussions going on. A base contract was already developed for the previous fight. There are things in our favor. Duco, my company, and Matchroom have made quick deals before and have worked together well. Both guys want the fight. It’s very possible we can put it together. We’ll probably set a drop date at the end of this week.”
“We’ll have a few bottom lines, such as each fighter will pay for VADA voluntary testing themselves and we would want that to start on Monday coming, whether the contracts are signed or not. We’re not suggesting Chisora has been up to anything, it’s just at this level, you’ve got to dot every i and cross every t. Provided the deals are made fast and the VADA testing starts on Monday, then we might have a fight.”