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Cojanu only credible opponent for Parker
Razvan Cojanu the only credible contender for May 6th title defence
WBO Heavyweight champion Joseph Parker is pleased his three month training camp is not all in vain following the announcement today that he will face Razvan ‘Big Foot’ Cojanu next Saturday night.
In further good news for Team Parker, one of the world’s largest SUV manufacturers HAVAL, has thrown its support behind him to defend the title at Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau on May 6th
HAVAL and sister brand Great Wall Motors have been unveiled as main sponsors for Parker’s first world title defence the giant Romanian.
Chief Marketing Officer Tim Smith said it was a red-letter day for HAVAL.
“We are excited to be in the corner supporting New Zealand champion Joseph Parker, and be a part of history as the country hosts its first world heavyweight title event against the tough Cojanu”.
Duco Matchmaker Stuart Duncan has revealed Romanian World number 14 was the only credible contender to face Parker following the injury to mandatory number one contender Hughie Fury over the weekend.
Mr Duncan received the phone call no matchmaker wants to hear last Sunday, just 13 days before the scheduled bout at Spark Arena in Auckland.
Parker has been in training camp since January 30 preparing for a tall opponent so, any replacement had to be at least 6’5”.
While the kiwi would love to face WBC champion Deontay Wilder, it was never an option.
The American risks being stripped of his title if he ignores his mandatory opponent Bermaine Stiverne.
Cojanu arrives in New Zealand with strong credentials having made his pro debut in 2011 and has 300 plus amateur fights under his belt.
He has previously signed contracts to fight contenders Jarrell Miller, Dillian Whyte and the most avoided man in the division, Luis Ortiz, only for all three opponents to drop out.
Conjanu is big and mobile with a wicked left rip and hook and has the advantage of knowing what Parker has been working on in camp.
The WBO Champion used Cojanu extensively in his camp to prepare for Alexander Dimitrenko and, as a result, produced arguably the finest result of his professional career.
Parker also faces Cojanu knowing he has never dropped the Romanian in sparring in any of his camps.
WBO WORLD RANKINGS
| 1 | Hughie Fury | Out injured |
| 2 | Christian Hammer | Already signed to defending his European title |
| 3 | Jarrell Miller | 5’ shorter than Fury & totally different style |
| 4 | Andy Ruiz | Only began training this week. |
| 5 | Kubrat Pulev | He is defending his WBA Regional title this week |
| 6 | Dominic Breazeale | Does not want to fight on May 6 |
| 7 | Dillain Whyte | Is booked to fight Mariusz Wach |
| 8 | Tom Schwarz | Fought last weekend |
| 9 | Andriy Rudenko | 6’ tall |
| 10 | Luis Ortiz | Injured and pulled out of a fight last week |
| 11 | Andrey Fedesov | 6’1 tall & fights nothing like Fury |
| 12 | Agit Kabayel | 6’3 and again fights nothing like Hughie Fury |
| 13 | Kyotaro Fujimoto | 5’11 tall and is booked to fight |
| 14 | Razvan Cojanu | 6’7 ½ tall actively training and available |
| 15 | Zhilei Zhang | A southpaw |
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