By Logan Savory

New Zealand's most exciting boxing talent Joseph Parker will fight in Invercargill in July.

Parker's promoters Duco Events and ILT Stadium Southland officials have been negotiating for nearly 18 months to bring a Parker fight to Invercargill.

A three-year agreement was signed this week between stadium officials and Auckland-based Duco Events which will see events brought to the city in each of the next three years.

ILT Stadium Southland general manager Nigel Skelt said there was still work to be done on what input would be provided by different community funders but he was confident enough to go ahead and sign the contract with Duco this week to get the promotion of the Parker fight under way. The proposed date for the fight is July 11.

"The only risk we could take is not taking a risk," Skelt said about signing the three-year deal with Duco.  "In our opinion they are an outstanding promoter of events, they have a world-class reputation so we couldn't find a better organisation to work with. Everything they have done they have been exceptionally professional."

There were out clauses for both parties if the partnership did not work but Skelt was confident it would provide plenty of benefits for Invercargill. "We've got to be leading the way. It is difficult getting people to come down here as it is, so we've got to take every opportunity we can and this is one of them."

Skelt hoped tickets would be on sale in February but prices had yet to be finalised.

Duco Events representative Dean Lonergan said Sir Bob Jones originally suggested they should take events to Invercargill because the community supported them. Then when Parker's trainer Kevin Barry visited the nearly complete ILT Stadium Southland last year he urged Duco Events to look at staging a fight there.

"Kevin said it was going to be a stunning stadium, so I got down there and I realised it was a world-class facility. It blows me away that Invercargill has managed to build a stadium of that quality down there. I've got no doubts this is going to be a major success."

Lonergan conceded there might be some eyebrows raised from people about taking such a big fight to provincial New Zealand but he was confident it was the right move.

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The event will be the first high-profile professional boxing night held in Invercargill and will feature a boxer who is being tipped to continue his rise up the world heavyweight ranks.  The 22-year-old has a 12-fight-12-win professional record and is ranked No 10 by the World Boxing Association.

With a lot of hype around Parker's prospects, the fight is likely to draw plenty of interest nationally, and some internationally as well.

As part of the agreement Parker will spend the whole week in Invercargill in the leadup to the fight, which will help put the spotlight on the city. Television broadcast time will also be spent promoting Southland.