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Promoters of the "fight of the century" are struggling to attract support from Auckland and Wellington to stage the bout between New Zealand's top two heavyweight boxers.
The $1 million battle between David Tua and Shane Cameron is without a venue three months before it is due to take place.
Promoter Duco Ltd has been told it will get no financial support from the Auckland City Council to stage the bout at the Vector Arena, understood to be Duco's preferred venue.
The chairman of the council's city development committee, Aaron Bhatnagar, said Duco had asked the council to underwrite the event.
"The assertion was that it would be embarrassing for us if it went to Wellington," Mr Bhatnagar said.
"They wanted us to underwrite it - we said no."
The Weekend Herald understands plans to cover Wellington's Westpac Stadium with a canopy for the bout have also been scuppered, by the Wellington City Council, which is reluctant to agree to anything that could put the pitch at risk two weeks before the All Blacks' test against France on June 20.
Promoter David Higgins said yesterday he was not concerned by the lack of a venue for the fight, due to be held on June 6 or 7.
"There are several options that remain on the table," he said. "We will look at hosting it wherever is most economically viable. It will absolutely go ahead."
He said he hoped to make an announcement on the venue within a week.
Mr Bhatnagar said the Auckland City Council was acutely aware of the Auckland Regional Council's $1.79 million loss on the David Beckham football match held at Mt Smart Stadium in December.
It hoped the boxing promoters could get a commercial partner, "but we are not going to put ratepayers' money into it".
Mr Bhatnagar was also sceptical of the promoter's claim that the fight - Tua's first since September 2007 - would be one of the year's top sporting events.
"I just don't buy into the hype that this will 'stop the country' or that we [Aucklanders] will be respected for winning this event."
But Mr Higgins said the fight would be a huge event that "more than half the population" would want to see.
