Hearn rejects Parker’s 65-35 offer for Joshua fight

By Scott Gilfoid: Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn says he’s not going to give WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker the 65-35 split that he and his promoter David Higgins are asking for in order for them to fight IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a unification fight.

Hearn says that if he can’t get the fight made with Parker, Joshua could possibly fight Dillian Whyte in a rematch in early 2018. Whyte is just one of the options that Hearn is potentially interested in if he fails to make the deal with Parker. Whyte would be the nuclear option for Hearn if he royally blows it with the negotiations with Parker. Hearn isn’t mentioning Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller’s name as a potential opponent for Joshua for some reason. It could be that Miller is too dangerous for Hearn to use against Joshua. Miller has the size, power and the stamina to knockout Joshua and ruin Hearn’s vision of a 10-year reign for his fighter. With a loss to Miller, Hearn’s dream of a 10-year dynasty for Joshua would be up in smoke. Miller is obviously being saved for much later, perhaps 2019.

Hearn isn’t saying how much he’s willing to pay Parker for the Joshua fight, but there’s talk that the offer is 70-30.

Hearn says Parker should take the money that he’s offering to him, and then look to get a big bump up in pay in a rematch if he beats Joshua. Hearn thinks it’s a good idea for Parker to take his offer, which is clearly below the 35 percent cut that he and his promoter Higgins are asking for, and then use the opportunity to make a lot more in the rematch.

“It was 60-40 and not a cent less,” said Hearn to IFL TV in talking about the previous offer from Parker’s promoter Higgins. “Now it’s 65-35 and not a cent less. It ain’t happening at 65-35. There’s an opportunity for Joseph Parker to make a huge amount of money. If he really wants the fight, then he’ll take the fight. If not, then he’ll yap, yap, yap, and then he’ll go and fight Lucas Browne,” said Hearn.

Parker has the WBO belt, and that’s a valuable a tool to have for him to use as leverage to eventually get the deal that he’s asking for from Joshua and Hearn. The best thing for Parker to do right now would be to walk away from the negotiations and schedule a fight with Lucas Browne or whoever. When Hearn is willing and perhaps even desperate to make the fight with Parker, you can bet he’ll be on the phone looking to give him the 40 percent cut. Joshua wants that belt. If Hearn is going to prevent him from getting his hands on it by making a big production out of a 5 percent difference between the 65-35 and the 70-30 cut that he’s rumored to want, then you have to wonder whether Joshua should look for another promoter that knows how to make deals and work with people. Hearn’s ham-handed approach to negotiating the Parker fight could result in Joshua failing to get the fight.

Joshua could lose in the near future when he faces WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury next year. Both of those guys would be very tough outs for a guy with limiting condition like Joshua. Given that Joshua is likely going to continue to add more muscle weight to his frame by next year, he could be in the 255 range by the time he faces Wilder. Joshua is already laboring to carry around all his muscle weight. By next year, it might even be worse.

“If you truly believe you’re going to knockout Anthony Joshua, take the fight for a load of millions, and double your money in the next fight if you win,” said Hearn.

That’s an interesting negotiating approach by Hearn. Offer the small money to Parker, and tell him he can make a lot more if he wins the fight. Promoters have been using that style of negotiating for years, and it often works out in their favor, with needy fighters agreeing to it, and ending up with little money when they lose. I don’t think that old wily strategy is going to work for Hearn in putting together the Parker fight.

Higgins obviously knows what Hearn is trying to do by trying to sugarcoat his lowball offer. Hearn is trying to make the bitter pill of a smaller percentage split into a positive thing by saying how much money he can get in a rematch if he beats Joshua. The problem is that Parker would be the underdog, and the fight would take place in Joshua’s home country. Parker could wind up losing a controversial decision or who knows. We might even see a premature stoppage like the Joshua vs. Carlos Takam fight.

Parker would be at a huge disadvantage fighting in front of a large pro-Joshua crowd in the UK. Having all that going against Parker makes it even more important that he stick to his guns and hold out until he gets his asking price. If Hearn is willing to throw away the Joshua-Parker fight over a mere 5 percent difference, then he’ll likely do the same thing when it comes to trying to put together the unification fight against Deontay Wilder. Hearn is obviously so used to Joshua being the A-side against contenders and regular fighters that brought nothing to the table.

Now that Hearn is trying to put together a deal with another heavyweight world champion, he doesn’t need to break out of his set pattern of negotiating. It’s been so slanted in Joshua’s favor for such a long time, Hearn can’t adapt to a different circumstance now that he has to deal with a world champion in Parker. At least that’s the way I see it. I see Hearn as being stuck in his ways, a promoter used to Joshua having it his own way year after year against largely no name fighters with little going for them. The only good fighter that Joshua has fought is Wladimir Klitschko, and he was over-the-hill at 41 and not the same fighter he’d been earlier in his career when he had Emanuel Steward working with him.

“No,” when asked if the offer should be 75-25. “I think that probably under values Joseph Parker. Joshua is driving the game. Joshua is driving the UK pay-per-view, not Joseph Parker. I’d like to make the fight. We’re close,” said Hearn.

So, 75-25 undervalues Parker, but 70-30 doesn’t? I think it’s ridiculous. Hearn should agree to the money that Parker wants, and take the high road. Trying to make Parker and his promoter Higgins give ground over a mere 5 percent is so unnecessary. If Joshua is as good as Hearn believes him to be, then he should pay Parker the money he’s asking for so that he can win his WBO title, and then reign as the top heavyweight for the next 10 years. Hearn believes Joshua will be the top heavyweight for the next decade. If that’s what Hearn truly believes and not something he’s just a case him flapping his gums to make Joshua happy, he should back it up by giving Parker the money he’s asking for so that the fight can get made. It’s no use ruining deals by offering too little money if the objective is to try and make Joshua the unified heavyweight champion.

“What he’s bringing is a belt,” said Hearn about Parker. ”We have to pay him for that,” said Hearn about Parker’s WBO title. “It’s a unification fight, and it’s a chance for us to draw nearer to becoming the undisputed champion of the world, and they know that, which is why they’re asking what they’re asking for, which is not the right price,” said Hearn.

It sounds like Hearn is devaluing Parker once again. By telling the boxing media that the only thing that Parker has going for him is the WBO belt, Hearn is devaluing the worth that he brings to the fight. I guess the idea behind Hearn doing that is Parker and Higgins will listen to him, and decide that they’re unworthy of a 65-35 deal. Parker brings a lot more to the fight than just his WBO title. Parker is a legitimate world class heavyweight. Up until now, Joshua’s only fought 2 decent world class fighters in Wladimir and Carlos Takam. The rest of the guys he;s fought have been mediocre fighters.

If that’s all Hearn sees in Parker, then he’s in the wrong business. Parker is an undefeated heavyweight, and one of the best in the division. Joshua gains a lot by fighting Parker. The problem that Joshua has is resume is loaded with fluff opponents. He’s really only fought one semi-good fighter in Wladimir, who was old and coming off of a 2-year layoff and a loss at the time he fought him. Parker would Joshua’s second best heavyweight he’s ever faced before as a pro. At this point, Parker might even be the best fighter that Joshua will have faced, because Wladimir was clearly not there mentally when he fought him last April, otherwise he would have knocked him out.