Friday 17 November 2017 11:42, UK
Eddie Hearn has denied Joseph Parker's claims about an offer for the Anthony Joshua fight and urged his promotional team to resume negotiations.
The WBO heavyweight champion expressed his anger on Twitter about the deal for a world title unification clash against Joshua, with the New Zealander's promoter also admitting he had "pretty much given up" on the fight.
But Hearn has responded to Parker's call for a "serious offer" by telling the Kiwi to resume talks about a 2018 showdown with Joshua, who holds the WBA 'super' and IBF titles.
"I'm not sure what Parker was told, but his tweet was incorrect," Hearn exclusively told Sky Sports. "They haven't even replied to my offer, other than via tweets. We are not interested in the he said, she said.
"If they want to make the fight, then they should come off social media and pick up the phone."
Hearn added on Sky Sports News: "I'm encouraging them to open dialogue to see if we can find middle ground.
"We have spoken [on Wednesday] and made our positions clear. There isn't middle ground at the moment but that can change. This is a fight we want."
David Higgins, a director at Duco Events who guide Parker's career, revealed his dismay earlier this week at an email from Hearn and shed more light on the fighter's social media outburst.
"We have heard rumours about what Charles Martin was paid," Higgins told Sky Sports. "Joseph has said he was offered less than half.
Joseph Parker's message to Anthony Joshua is 'I want to fight you. I think I'll win, but I want a fair portion of the pie. It's a big pie and let's share it fairly.'
"We've had clarification from Eddie. It was actually a little bit more than half that Eddie offered, but still how can Charles Martin be worth nearly double a unification against an unbeaten world champion named Joseph Parker?"
Higgins insists he could slightly soften his stance of "not a cent less" than a 40-60 split in Joshua's favour, but wants to work with Hearn to deliver an acceptable fight purse for Parker.
"Yes, absolutely, but it's got to improve a lot," he said. "You never say never, but not a lot [less]. We should work together.
"We want a more collaborative, open book approach, rather than pay us off with a low fixed fee and we don't know what the revenues are.
"The world wants to see it, we want it, but we won't accept it for what we think is an unfair deal.
"His [Parker's] frame of mind, we are very aligned, our camp. He wants to fight Joshua, but he knows the deal is not what it should be.
"Joseph Parker's message to Anthony Joshua is: 'I want to fight you. I think I'll win, but I want a fair portion of the pie. It's a big pie and let's share it fairly'."
