Tickets for the cocktail party, in the penthouse of the same hotel at which the press conference was staged, cost $99AUD and had been advertised with the promise of the newsworthy Joseph Parker, the Irish light heavyweight Conor Wallace, and Spencer Brown, “manager of Tyson Fury”, in attendance. On the night only Wallace appeared, but any who parted with their hard-earned money not only had the opportunity of meeting Wallace, Francis and some of Stan’s on-screen talent, of rubbing shoulders with, among others, the master of ceremonies Thomas Treiber and Maria Rekowski – said to be her country’s first female boxing promoter – and of indulging in a particularly generous four-hour drinks package and oysters and canapés, they could also bid in the auction for two framed-and-signed Opetaia fight posters. The first, for Opetaia-Mairis Breidis II, on the undercard of Fury-Oleksandr Usyk in May 2024, was sold for $2,000. The second, for Opetaia-David Nyika, was sold for $1,600. Francis and Wallace also spoke, on stage, about what they hope will be next in the Irishman’s career – a fight with the light-heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol, one of the very finest fighters in the world.
Subscribe to my channel
