If Junior Fa wants his shot at boxing fame, his management needs to lower their financial expectations.
Fa and manager Mark Keddell are campaigning for an all-New Zealand bout against former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
The two camps have had a brief, informal discussion, but according to Parker's manager, David Higgins, they are at an impasse.
Higgins is keen to make the fight happen, but has told Newshub that Fa and Keddell have priced themselves out of the fight.
Team Fa is seeking close to NZ$1million, but Higgins says that is nowhere near a realistic number.
Higgins has warned the Fa camp that the fight is dead, unless they reassess their financial expectations.
"They are pricing themselves out, asking for nearly a million dollars in the middle of a lockdown," Higgins said. "It's silly and Joseph isn't taking it seriously.
"We are going to end these discussions now, because they don't realistically want the fight.
"If they do, they know where we are, but they need to be realistic with their financial demands."
Keddell and Higgins are no strangers, having walked in similar business circles through the years.
On Thursday, Keddell told Newshub that Higgins should hand full managerial reins of Parker over to trainer Kevin Barry, because Higgins was out of his depth.
The head of Duco Events New Zealand says that comment is just Keddell's weak attempt at agitation, insisting his resume speaks for itself.
"Mark is a former pub owner, who is doing a bit of boxing stuff as a hobby," says Higgins.
"He knows I have been looking after Joseph since day one, and he became the fourth-youngest ever champion and he set up his family for life, so I must be doing something right.
"That's just silly stuff."
Higgins says Team Fa are really just "stirring the pot" to gain some attention in the media.
"They don't want anything to do with Joseph Parker - it's just gamesmanship. The fight is there if they want it, but they don't.
"I don't think the Fa team are being realistic about the money. What they are asking for is astronomical - Junior Fa is asking for more money than Joseph Parker."
Higgins says Parker's UK-based promoter, Eddie Hearn, could make a deal with Fa's promoter, Lou Di Bella, to get the fight off the ground.
But that will only happen if Team Fa understands their worth in the heavyweight boxing landscape.
