Dunedin boxing official Steve Scott is backing Joseph Parker in his fight against Bowie Tupou tomorrow.
Scott, the IBO Asia-Pacific vice-president, believes Tupou has the power and durability to trouble Parker, but doubts he can handle Parker's speed and accuracy.
He said Duco had Parker on the right path, and getting overseas heavyweights to fight in New Zealand was difficult because it cost about $US40,000 ($NZ60,500) to $US60,000 minimum, and many boxers would want $US100,000-plus.
Scott said there was nothing for Parker to gain by fighting in the United States right now without the likes of Bob Arum or Oscar De La Hoya wanting him.
There were plenty of strong heavyweights around, and Parker was one of them, but he had ''picked a difficult time to grab a title'', Scott said.
''In previous years, there were about four champs and one was a bit easier to beat than the other ones, but at the moment we have Klitschko and Deontay Wilder and neither of them are particularly easy, so it's a matter of timing for Joseph.''
Scott said Dunedin had been ''starved'' of professional boxing and he would like to try to change that.
''The Town Hall would be a wonderful venue for boxing if we could fill it up.''
