Joseph Parker's camp have been quick to shoot down reports the Kiwi heavyweight has locked in a fight date against Brit Joe Joyce.
British boxer Joyce this morning claimed his fight with Parker had been confirmed, but Parker's manager denies that's the case.
"Contrary to widespread reporting there is nodeal yet for Joseph Parker to fight Joe Joyce,'' David Higgins said.
"Joseph does want the fight yes, but it won't happen until a contract is fully negotiated and signed by all parties on terms Parker is happy with. Right now we are not there yet and Parker remains a free agent open to any offers."
Parker's fight against the Briton was announced during the BT Sport broadcast of the Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte WBC world title bout on Sunday morning. A date was not mentioned in the announcement.
The fighters' camps have been engaged in contract talks since Parker's win over Derek Chisora in December.
Joyce won a silver medal at the 2016 London Olympics and has reeled off 13 straight wins since turning professional.
Most recently he scored an impressive 10th-round knockout over Daniel Dubois and also boasts a sixth-round TKO over Carlos Takam, who Parker beat in Auckland back in 2016.
Parker is coming off consecutive wins over Englishman Derek Chisora and is riding a six-fight win streak.
"We are in discussions with Joyce's team," Parker told Sportsmail last week. "The difficult part, though, is that it's very hard getting a deal with him. It's taking ages.
"My manager David Higgins has been going back and forth, getting the contract sorted, waiting for them to make markups and send it back.
"We've got a few options. The first option is Joyce, but it's taking so long who knows if it's going to happen now.
"I work well with Frank Warren and his team, but at the moment it's taking so long. David's working with Frank Warren and his team to lock in the contract.
"Maybe they're busy with the big fight, with the Fury fight. But with contracts, I think it should move a little quicker than what it has."
