SYDNEY, Australia – Purse bids for Lewis Crocker-Liam Paro will be staged on February 3 after Paro’s promoters No Limit ended negotiations in an attempt to bring forward their IBF welterweight title fight.
Australia’s Paro was installed as Crocker’s mandatory challenger following Paddy Donovan’s withdrawal, through illness, from the final eliminator that had been scheduled for January 16.
The 29-year-old Paro’s preparations for Donovan have contributed to him being open about his desire to fight Crocker as soon as the champion can be ready. Crocker, also 29 and of Northern Ireland, recently separated from his trainer Billy Nelson and recruited Huzaifah Iqbal; his promoter Eddie Hearn has regardless been open about his intentions of staging his first title defence in April.
“You normally have 30 days to negotiate but at any one time you can call for purse bids – we’ve called for purse bids,” No Limit’s Matt Rose told BoxingScene. “No particular reason, I just don’t want to wait 30 days to the purse bids [so it’ll be] 3rd of Feb[ruary].
“We don’t want to wait another month when we can move it forward. Whether we get it or Matchroom get it, at least the fight’s on.
“We’d love to win the purse bid, but you’ve got to remember, it’s a 65-35 split to Matchroom. They definitely have a very good advantage. We’ll still put in a bid. It’s something that we’d love to do, but when it goes to purse bids it’s out of your control. You’ve got no idea where things are gonna end.
“Either way I think it lands March, April. My understanding – if Matchroom win they’ll do it in April, and either way, we’re March or April. I dare say late March, mid-to-late April, will be the date [of the fight].”
No Limit’s urgency perhaps owes in part to the ongoing delays preventing the WBO middleweight title eliminator between England’s Denzel Bentley and Endry Saavedra.
Bentley-Saavedra was first scheduled for the undercard of Joseph Parker-Fabio Wardley on October 25. It was then in contention to feature on the undercard of Tim Tszyu-Anthony Valezquez on December 17, but the IBF and WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly failing a drugs test in early December and the consequent uncertainty surrounding his status as champion has contributed to further delays.
“We’re waiting patiently for the purse bid to be called,” said Rose, the promoter of the Venezuelan Saavedra. “Somewhat similar to the Paro fight, we’ve requested purse bids, so hopefully in the not-too-distant future that’ll be called soon and we can get that fight on. I’m watching closely the result of Janibek and what happens with him.
“That fight could all of a sudden become a world title, and if not, the eliminator or the interim is something great for us; for Saavedra. Very keen for that to be moved very quickly, because he’s waited patiently too, and for some reason or another there’s little things that have popped up that have slowed things down.
“[Janibek’s drugs test delayed the process further], initially, because obviously everyone waits to see what’s going on. But you can’t wait forever. There’s gonna be a process and I’m not sure what the WBO and the IBF will do. But, for us, we’re very keen to get the Bentley fight happening now. We’re aiming for the same period of March, April. Ideally we’d love to have it here, but we’ll be in the same situation as we are with Matchroom and Paro.”
