Snubbed: Mundine v John Wayne Parr fight moving to Brisbane
John Wayne Parr has been devastated by the decision to move his hometown boxing farewell to Brisbane. Promoter Steven Wijangco said attempts to keep the fight on the Coast had failed.
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John Wayne Parr was devasted to learn promoters had chosen to move his hometown boxing farewell against Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine to Brisbane.
The bout between two of Australia’s most beloved fighters was set for CBUS Super Stadium at Robina on Saturday but promoters claim residual bushfire smoke inside the open-air stadium is to blame for the late move.
Ticket sales – which the Gold Coast Bulletin understands have been underwhelming – did not play a part, promoter Steven Wijangco said.
“Tickets were on track but it was more because of the smoky air from the Gold Coast bushfires that we were concerned about,” Wijangco said.
“Last week we were at CBUS Super Stadium doing a walkthrough and unfortunately there was still some smoky air in the building.
“We were concerned about patrons, kids with asthma, sitting there for six hours and the professional athletes trying to compete in that environment.
Choc says he's so sharp he's cutting air. Too bad he can't cut smoke - his fight with John Wayne Parr is being moved to Brisbane because of "bushfire smoke." @GCB_Sport story coming soon pic.twitter.com/jEPAlMettt
— Nic Darveniza (@NicDarveniza) November 25, 2019
“I was letting (Titans star and undercard boxer) Jarrod Wallace know about the changing venue and he said after training sessions lately he feels like he’s smoked a packet of cigarettes.
“We thought it would be best to try and move the fight to a controlled environment.”
After an unsuccessful attempt to move the fight to the Gold Coast Convention Centre, which was already booked, Wijangco said he was left with no choice but to move the fight to Brisbane’s Convention Centre.
A venue, the promoter conceded, that was “definitely” more commercially attractive.
“It was a hard conversation have with (John Wayne),” Wijangco said.
“He’s gutted. He had his heart set on the Gold Coast and he’s devastated with the outcome, but he’s glad the fight is still going on.”
Mundine slammed local government for not helping keep the fight on the Coast.
“We had no assistance, man - none,” Mundine said.
“We went to the Government, showed them the numbers, everything was matching up.
“They just didn’t – I don’t know why they didn’t want to come on board.
“It’s unfortunate how events like this have got to fade.”
Tickets are still valid for the new event and refunds are available for ticket-holders unable to travel to Brisbane for the fight.
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