According to David Higgins, promoter for WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs), he's received word from Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA champion Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs), that their side is willing to budge on their position with respect to the financial terms.

Their negotiations began earlier this week, and Higgins was furious after receiving what he felt was a "ridiculously low offer" from Hearn for a unification showdown in the first quarter of 2018.

But they have interacted again and it appears the two sides had a much better interaction regarding the split of the money.

Higgins has a much better feeling about the discussions than he did earlier this week - when he felt the fight had little chance of taking place.

"We weren't happy with their starting point but they have signalled they are willing to move a bit. We are in the middle of that negotiation now," Higgins told Fairfax Media.

"We know exactly what the lines are, both parties want the fight but we have to settle on a fair deal. We want utter transparency ... open books, all the revenue in the pot and all the costs, a right of audit and then a share that we feel reflects Joseph's status as an unbeaten champion as a ratio of the overall pie."

Higgins initially said he was looking to secure a 60-40 deal in favor of Joshua - after stating that Hearn wanted an 80-20 deal.

But it appears that both promoters are now looking to find some middle ground to get a deal together.

If Higgins and Parker reach the right deal, they have no issue with a UK venue being selected for the unification.  

"Eddie is fairly straight forward and he's professional. He's just trying to drive a hard bargain. In driving the hard bargain though, we urge him to consider that Parker has come from the ground up, he's earned that title and in unifying he is putting that all on the line," Higgins said.

"He has a large extended family to look after. Joshua has had the privilege of setting himself and his family up for life and for us, it's a bigger deal than for them. For AJ, maybe the money might be a bit of a drop in the ocean. For us, it makes a meaningful difference to four or five years of very hard work and risk by Joseph, Duco, Kevin Barry ... the whole team.

"When we started this, it was 'let's try and do the impossible'. Having got there and then being willing to unify ... unifications only happen once or twice in a decade ... that deserves a fair deal."

If the negotiations fall apart, Parker has several other options. Top Rank's Bob Arum has a March date in mind, in the United States, to match Parker against heavyweight contender Bryant Jennings.