Hughie Fury’s father denied visa to enter New Zealand for Parker fight

BoxingNews24.com

By Jim Dower: Unbeaten #2 WBO contender Hughie Fury (20-0, 10 KOs) will be without his trainer/father Peter Fury for his May 6 fight against WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (22-0, 18 KOs), as his visa to enter New Zealand was declined. Parker vs. Fury will be taking place at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

It’s unknown who will be in the 22-year-old Hughie’s corner for the Parker fight. Hughie’s cousin is former heavyweight Tyson Fury. That would be interesting if Tyson were to be in Hughie’s corner. It might not matter who works Hughie’s corner for the fight against the unbeaten Parker, because he’s going to have a lot of problems no matter who is giving him instructions.

Hughie hasn’t fought since last April when he beat Fred Kassi by a 7 round technical decision. Hughie was out of the ring taking care of medical problems. The negotiations with Parker’s management took a long time as well for Hughie’s promoter. All that combined let to Hughie being out of the ring for what will be 13 months by the time he fights again. Hughie’s problem besides his inactivity is his lack of punching power.

The 6’6” Hughie is not a puncher despite being a big heavyweight. Without any power, Hughie is going to have a difficult time trying to keep the 6’4’ Parker off of him. Parker is very powerful and has knocked out 18 of 21 opponents he’s faced. Parker can punch with major power at a distance or in close range. If Hughie decides he wants to keep the fight on the outside, he’s still going to have to deal with Parker hitting him with big power shots every now and then. Parker is capable of throwing a lot of punches when he wants to. Hughie won’t last long if Parker starts hitting him frequently with big shots.

Parker has the experience advantage in this fight. He’s beaten Andy Ruiz Jr., Alexander Dimitrenko and Carlos Takam in the last year. Hughie would have his hands full against any of those three. Dimitrenko, 6’7”, would even be a tough test for Hughie, because he’s very similar to him, but with a little more size and a little more power. Parker destroyed Dimitrenko in 3 rounds. It wasn’t a fight. Hughie might be in a similar situation if Parker is able to land his power shots on his chin with any consistency.

Parker’s win over Ruiz Jr. was controversial. Parker won a 12 round majority decision last December in Auckland, New Zealand. Many boxing fans felt that Ruiz Jr. did enough to deserve the win. Parker came on strong in the second half of the fight to get the win.