Joseph Parker

One-time world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury posted an Instagram picture of himself and his cousin at the weekend, with the tag "Me & @hughienew in London last night".

Hughie Fury had cried off a title challenge against Parker, citing a back injury. Promoters Duco had to find a hasty replacement, leading to an uninspiring first title defence against against stand-in opponent Razvan Cojanu on Saturday night.

Fury withdrew less than three weeks out from the title bout, leading to purse downgrades and the stress of finding an alternative fighter.

Parker puts his belt on the line against Razvan Cojanu in Manukau tonight.

"The way I see it, I don't even have this title. I'm still hungry," Parker said, believing he needed to win the belt rather than defend it.

And winning is absolutely everything considering the buoyant state of the heavyweight division. But winning impressively is just as important.

Parker is blocking out the distractions of the juicy deals that lie ahead on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The build-up to what could be Parker's last fight in New Zealand for some time has been disastrous.

Hughie Fury's withdrawal two weeks out from the fight after claiming a dubious back injury left promoters Duco in the lurch, forcing them into immediate scramble mode.

They quickly settled on Parker's sparring partner, Romanian challenger Razvan Cojanu who is ranked No 14 by the WBO, as the best option to replace Fury and save their May 6 event.

New Zealander Parker will have a keen eye on the fight which has the IBF and WBA belts up for grabs. He's eager to line up a fight with either Klitschko or Joshua and would welcome a title unification bout with his WBO belt.

Parker's mind has been swaying backwards and forwards on who might win at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday (NZ time), in front of a 90,000 crowd.

"Leading up to the fight I was thinking of Joshua and his power but now the more I think about it, I come back to the experience factor of Klitschko," the 25-year-old Parker said on Friday.

Kevin Barry has taken a shot at no-show Hughie Fury, saying the British heavyweight "wouldn't have been able to hurt" Joseph Parker and would have produced an ugly performance for fans.

Fury pulled out of the WBO world heavyweight title fight scheduled for Auckland on May 6 at the weekend, citing a back injury. He has been replaced by the organisation's No 14 ranked fighter, Razvan Cojanu.

The bad blood between the Parker and Fury camps continues to spill.

Less than 48 hours after Hughie Fury pulled out of the fight against Parker, a new contender Romanian Razvan Cojanu touched down in Auckland .

Cojanu who is ranked 14th is a significant step down in class from the unbeaten Fury.

It's clearly a drop in quality of fight but Parker is not seeing it that way.

"We've been in two training camps together in the last four years so he knows how i fight he has seen me train.

With mandatory challenger Hughie Fury having this week pulled out of the fight citing a back injury, Parker's management sought a swift replacement for the promotion in Auckland on May 6.

They have revealed Parker will face the lanky Cojanu, 30, who has won 16 of his 18 fights, including nine by knockout, and is ranked 14th by the WBO.

The holder of the WBO Asian Pacific title, Cojanu represents a significant step down in class from the unbeaten Fury, who was the No.1 ranked challenger in the division.

Fury, the mandatory challenger, pulled out of the May 6 promotion in Auckland citing a back injury. He has been replaced by Romanian Razvan Cojanu, the WBO's No 14.

A search of the licensed boxers on the British Boxing Board of Control's website revealed no Fury two weeks out from what was meant to be the fight of his career.

Replying to an inquiry from Stuff about Fury's surprising absence, the board's general secretary, Robert Smith, said the boxer was in the process of renewing his licence.

Duco Events is expected to announce today that Razvan Cojanu will challenge Parker for the WBO heavyweight belt.

Cojanu meets the WBO criteria of being in their top 15 list, just, being ranked at 14. The 30-year-old Cojanu has a 16 win, two loss record. Americans Dominic Breazeale and Deontay Wilder have also put their hands up to fight Parker, since Fury pulled out of the May 6 bout citing a lower back injury.

Fury pulled out of his May 6 fight with Parker in Auckland for the WBO heavyweight title, citing a back injury.

That has left Paker's handlers scrambling for a last-minute opponent with the WBO quickly sanctioning a voluntary defence against one of their other top 15 fighters.

It's understood Duco Events are making good progress and hope to announce a credible opponent on Wednesday or Thursday.