Joseph Parker was not exactly shocked to find out that he would no longer be fighting Hughie Fury on May 6.
News broke from Fury’s camp at the weekend that the undefeated heavyweight prospect had been forced to withdraw from his upcoming clash with WBO heavyweight champion Parker in Auckland due to injury.
A back problem reportedly “left him unable to train to his full capacity,” and now Parker is in need of a late replacement if he is to ensure that the show goes on in front of his hometown crowd.
Fury, the cousin of former world heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, will have to return to the drawing board but the legitimacy of his reason for pulling out has since been called into question by Parker and his team.
“I guess the way I see it, it is probably an excuse. It might be an excuse, it might be legit … I think we just have to adapt and prepare for what is coming our way,” Parker said, via Stuff.co.nz.
Due to the short notice element of any replacement opponent stepping up, it’s unlikely that a highly ranked fighter will be prepared to accept the bout but, regardless, Parker will be standing in the red corner in two week’s time.
“Of course I am going to fight May 6th,” he added. “I’ve been preparing for this day so whoever they bring, I will be prepared for it. I want an opponent which is going to put up a good fight, an opponent that’s going to make everyone think it’s a 50-50 fight.”
Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry has also admitted that while the team is understandably disappointed by the change of plans, there was no real surprise that the Fury camp withdrew from the scheduled contest at the eleventh hour.
“I hope the injury is not too serious and I wish Hughie a speedy recovery,” Barry said.
“I will say it didn’t come as a total surprise to us.
“Just the way the whole Fury team have been conducting themselves in the last three months, it didn’t at all surprise us for them to pull out at this last minute.”
