Duco Events' owners Dean Lonergan and David Higgins have been unable to find common ground as they try to formalise their business separation. Photo / Getty
Duco Events' owners Dean Lonergan and David Higgins have been unable to find common ground as they try to formalise their business separation. Photo / Getty
KEY POINTS:
After announcing split in May, Duco still haven't formalised divorce
Parker's management want details "sooner rather than later"
Buy-out price appears to be the biggest stumbling block
The thorny Duco divorce is set to drag into 2018, with difficult-to-forecast future earnings making a buy-out tricky to negotiate.
The fickle nature of world boxing belts and uncertainty surrounding the future of the NRL Nines has made a clean exit for either partner impossible, said sources with knowledge of the situation.
Duco Events partners David Higgins and Dean Lonergan confirmed in May - just days after prized asset Joseph Parker retained his WBO world heavyweight belt with a lacklustre victory over little known Romanian Razvan Cojanu - they would part ways.
More than two months later, it is understood they are no closer to finalising the terms of their separation.
"The expectation was, having agreed in principle about the split, the detail wouldn't be a problem," said former Supreme Court judge Bill Wilson, a key member of Parker's management team.
"I hope it is sorted sooner rather than later. It would be in everyone's interests to have all the issues resolved." Parker's contract with Duco ends in November 2018.
Higgins and Lonergan have had numerous fallouts during their five-year business relationship but have remained tight-lipped over the dispute that effectively ended their partnership. It is understood, however, that the departure in December last year of former Rugby World Cup 2011 CEO Martin Snedden was a crippling blow.
"The intensity of keeping us all on the same page was taking its toll," Snedden told the Herald on Sunday. "It always had a reasonably short shelf life."
It didn't stop Snedden being an unabashed admirer of the way Higgins and Lonergan cultivated a raw talent with little amateur pedigree into a heavyweight champion. Duco now holds two boxing aces in their portfolio, having guided Brisbane welterweight Jeff Horn to a WBO world title. It is a feat that should have pushed them into the upper echelon of promoters.
Horn's shock upset of legendary Filipino Manny Pacquiao last month has set up the likelihood of a lucrative rematch - expected to be in Melbourne.
Horn, a former Brisbane school teacher, has become a household name, even preparing to launch a book in October. His first fight against Pacquiao sold around 50,000 pay-per-views in Australia, filled Suncorp Stadium and was ESPN's highest-rated boxing telecast since 1995. The rematch would be on another scale.
Parker, meanwhile, will defend his title against Hughie Fury in Manchester on September 23. If he beats Fury, no certainty given he is ceding home advantage and has not looked sharp in his previous two fights, he stands to make more money in one fight than All Blacks pocket in entire careers.
Joseph Parker's future earnings are difficult to calculate in the fickle world of heavyweight boxing. Photo / Photosport
Parker's poor showing against Cojanu ironically worked in Duco's favour. The South Aucklander is now viewed as an easy champion to knock off - with contenders such as Russia's Alexander Povetkin, Tony Bellew and fellow Englishman Dillian Whyte lining up, creating a bidding war.
Duco also have options in terms of venues, with Japan touted as a possible destination.
It has created a situation where dividing Duco's assets - which also includes the Brisbane Global Tens rugby tournament, the NRL Nines and corporate black tie dinners - is made fraught by the uncertainty around Horn and in particular the earning potential of Parker.
A source suggested Lonergan was asking for close to an eight-figure sum from Higgins, which has been baulked at, but neither commented when approached by the Herald on Sunday.
"Obviously there are substantial sums of money involved from both sides of the table with their success with Horn and the way Joe is going," Wilson said. "From the management's point of view, we aren't involving ourselves in all the detail. We're leaving it to David and Dean and their advisers to sort out."
The promoters will continue to work in isolation - Higgins guiding Parker and Lonergan doing likewise with Horn.
The immediate future of the Tens tournament - which featured the Kiwi and Australian Super Rugby franchises along with Toulon, Panasonic, the Bulls and Samoa - is understood to be secure, with an announcement imminent about plans for the second edition at Suncorp Stadium early next year.
Duco's long-term involvement in the Nines is less clear. Next year's tournament has been put on hold over complications around the Rugby League World Cup and is expected to be shifted from Auckland to Australia.
