Boxing: Govt and local body help tipped to be more forthcoming now for Joseph Parker fights

Saturday's heavy rain made Duco's decision to choose Vector Arena as their venue instead of the open-air Eden Park an extremely good one in hindsight. Photo / Photosport

Now that Joseph Parker has hit the big time his future appearances in New Zealand appear contingent on government support.

There is a strong possibility that his next fight will be at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium. Duco Events are in talks with the city, and, reading between the lines, it appears the council could be keen to back it.

Duco were heavily criticised for their willingness to form a partnership with central and local government ahead of Parker's heavyweight world title fight against Andy Ruiz Jr, and as a result Ateed, Auckland city's events funding arm, pulled out.

Samoa stepped in with more than $100,000 but, now Parker is a world champion, with the added value and profile that brings him and those connected with him, it's hard to see other Kiwi cities being so hesitant.

Asked whether that support would be crucial in Parker fighting in New Zealand again, Duco's chief executive Martin Snedden said: "The truth is, probably yes. This is actually not abnormal, by the way. There was a bit of an uproar when people became aware we were seeking assistance from local and central government funds, but that's perfectly normal for events around New Zealand and it's been happening for a long time.

"We're not different to anyone else, we've got a good product and we're entitled to put up our hands and say 'if your area or city thinks you can hold this event then invest in it because it does bring benefits'.

"We know out of the 10,000 [at Vector Arena] that there were well over 3000 visitors to the city. We saw the stories about hotel rooms being full. You saw the vibrancy. We ourselves spend an enormous amount of money in Auckland city putting on this fight. And the less tangible returns are the awareness of Auckland and New Zealand. That's where Samoa got the benefit. Without that sort of backing, it's going to be hard to fight in New Zealand."

Saturday's heavy rain made Duco's decision to choose Vector Arena as their venue instead of the open-air Eden Park an extremely good one in hindsight. Dunedin's indoor stadium, which has a capacity of 35,000, would mitigate against weather worries too. Snedden said early indications were that the fight had turned a profit.

Asked about the pay per view numbers, he said: "It was the best result for a Parker fight by a long way. It didn't get to Tua v Cameron numbers but we're happy with it. I think we hit the right price, which is demonstrated by the result."

Illegal live-streamers were again an issue, with Snedden saying: "There's no way we would have closed down everybody, and there will be lots of people who will have stories of how they succeeded [in live-streaming the fight] but we had a pretty effective night."