Joseph Parker vs. Junior Fa

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Joseph Parker vs Junior Fa
Date27 February 2021
VenueSpark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
Title(s) on the lineWBO Oriental heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Joseph Parker Junior Fa
Nickname Lupesoliai La'auliolemalietoa
Hometown Auckland, New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand
Pre-fight record 27–2 19–0
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition Former WBO heavyweight champion
WBO No. 3, WBC No. 6 , and IBF No. 7 ranked heavyweight		 WBO Oriental interim heavyweight champion
WBO No. 6 ranked heavyweight
Result
Parker defeats Fa by UD

Joseph Parker vs. Junior Fa was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between former WBO champion Joseph Parker and WBO Oriental interim champion Junior Fa. The bout took place on 27 February 2021, at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.[1] The event was co-promoted by David Higgins of Duco Events, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment,[2] and was considered a history making moment and New Zealand's next "Fight of the Century".[3][4]

Background[edit]

As well as growing up in the same neighbourhood in South Auckland and being members of the same church,[5][3] Joseph Parker and Junior Fa have a history stretching back to their amateur days, having fought on four occasions with two wins each.[6] Four years after making his professional debut,[7] Parker won his first world title in December 2016 by defeating Andy Ruiz Jr. to capture the vacant WBO heavyweight title.[8] After two successful defences Parker suffered his first professional defeat in March 2018, losing his title in a unification bout against reigning unified champion Anthony Joshua.[9] Following the second loss of his career four months later against Dillian Whyte,[10] Parker went on a three fight winning streak; defeating Alexander Flores in December 2018;[11] Alex Leapai in June 2019;[12] and Shawndell Winters in February 2020.[13]

Junior Fa made his professional debut in 2016.[14] Later that year he began plotting his path to fight against Parker.[15] In 2017, Fa won the vacant New Zealand (NZPBA version) heavyweight title against Daniel Tai.[16] The following year he won the WBO Oriental interim title against Luis Pascual to secure a world ranking.[17] Between August 2018 and August 2019, the WBO consistently ranked Fa higher in the world rankings than Parker.[18][19]

In September 2018, negotiations began between team Parker and team Fa for a potential fight in December 2018.[20] The fight failed to materialise after the teams could not come to an agreement regarding the purse split, with Parker opting to fight Alexander Flores while Fa fought on the undercard against Rogelio Rossi.[21] At the post-event press conference, Parker's trainer Kevin Barry "unleashed verbal blows" when the possibility of a Parker vs. Fa bout was mentioned. Stating, "It's a joke that he even gets mentioned in the same breath as Joe". Barry said that Fa had already been offered the fight, but, "he said no, I'd rather fight a guy who had seven fights in seven years and lost four of his last seven fights by knockout and who is 37-years-old, come on, give me a fricken break."[21]

Talks between the teams resumed in early 2020, however, they quickly broke down after Parker claimed Fa's team "priced themselves out" while Fa's team reportedly claimed they were given a "lowball" offer.[22] In August Fa's manager, Mark Keddell, said the fight was close to being agreed, stating, "We've sent our final offer to them today and in terms of the money I just cannot see it being a problem. We're talking pennies in the pound here. Junior is keen to fight. He wants to make it happen."[23] On 5 October, New Zealand prime minister Jacinder Ardern announced that the COVID-19 lockdown for New Zealand was being lifted.[24] The following day it was announced that the long-awaited bout is scheduled to take place on 11 December 2020 at the Spark Arena in Auckland.[25]

A month before the fight it was announced that Junior Fa was not medically fit to compete. Junior Fa team saw that Fa wasn't doing so well doing training and energy levels, so they decided to get some bloods done. The fight doctor for the event Dr David Renata said the bloods were not normal and that Junior required surgery.[26] Due to the show being postponed, some of the undercard that was scheduled to be on the show had to go elsewhere to keep their fights going.[27] On 18 December it was announced that Junior Fa surgery was successful and the show was rescheduled for 27 February 2021.[28]

Fight card[edit]

Weight Class Weight vs. Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight 200+ lbs. New ZealandSamoa Joseph Parker def. New ZealandTonga Junior Fa UD 12 Note 1
Heavyweight 200+ lbs. New ZealandTonga Hemi Ahio def. New ZealandUnited States Julius Long KO 7 (8) 2:55
Cruiserweight 200 lbs. New ZealandTonga Panuve Helu def. New Zealand Nikolas Charalampous SD 6 ^Note 2
Cruiserweight 200 lbs. New Zealand David Nyika def. New Zealand Jesse Maio TKO 1 (4) 0.29
Light Heavyweight 200 lbs. New ZealandUnited Kingdom Jerome Pampellone def. New Zealand Antz Amouta TKO 1 (4) 2:57
Super Lightweight 140 lbs. New Zealand Richie Hadlow def. New ZealandRepublic of the Congo Obedi Maguchi TKO 2 (4) 1:13
Light Heavyweight 175 lbs. New ZealandSamoa John Parker def. New ZealandSamoa Egelani Taito UD 4
Super Heavyweight 200+ lbs. New Zealand Phil Telea def. New Zealand Niro Iuta UD 3 Note 3

^Note 1 For the vacant WBO Oriental Heavyweight title
^Note 2 Originally announced as Spit Decision draw, was later changed to a win to Panuve helu after all three judges failed to score a round correctly due to the referee deducting a point.
^Note 3 Corporate boxing bout

Fight details[edit]

Joseph Parker vs. Junior Fa was held at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Tickets for the fight went on sale on 7 October after Duco Events announced that general admission tickets would start from a price of $69. Approximately 9,000 tickets went on sale to the general public. They had elected to go with Ticketmaster for distribution of sales. Corporate tables went on sale privately through Duco events themselves with prices ranging from $495 for a single seat to a maximum of $14,995 for a table of 10 in the front row.[29]

Broadcasting[edit]

Duco events began a new partnership for this event with relatively new sports broadcaster Spark Sport and media company NZME. The fight was televised through a pay-per-view (PPV) produced by Spark Sport and Duco Events. Internationally across the world the event will be broadcast on DAZN.[30] For New Zealand PPV prices began at $39.99 for people wishing to purchase of the event before 26 October. After that date the price goes up to $49.99 until 10 December. On 10 and 11 December the price will go up again to $59.99. David Higgins is aiming to break the New Zealand PPV record which is currently held by the last New Zealand Fight of the Century David Tua vs Shane Cameron. The second highest PPV record in New Zealand is held by Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker and third with highest held by UFC 253 Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa.[31]

International broadcasters
Country Broadcaster
 New Zealand Spark Sport
Rest of the world DAZN

Aftermath[edit]

After the fight, it was announced that Parker had split from his trainer Kevin barry.[32] Parker with the assistance of his friend Tyson Fury would sign up with a new trainer, Andy Lee.[33] Parker would begin his rivalry with Derek Chisora after signing on with the new trainer.

Junior Fa would not return to the ring until June 2022 where he fought Lucas Browne. Junior Fa lost the fight by a devastating knockout.[34]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Joseph Parker vs. Junior Fa Now Set For February 27". BoxingScene.com. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  2. ^ "How the stars finally aligned for Joseph Parker and Junior Fa to book Kiwi blockbuster". Stuff NZ. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Full press conference: Joseph Parker fights Junior Fa, Dec 11 in Auckland". Matchroom. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Joseph Parker vs Junior Fa: NZ's 'Fight of the Century' is on for Dec 11". World Boxing News. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Joseph Parker vs Junior Fa is on! – Presented by Stonewood Homes". Spark NZ. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Joseph Parker vs Junior Fa on December 11 in 'New Zealand's fight of the century'". Sky Sports. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Shane Cameron defies odds with Barrett KO". Stuff NZ. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  8. ^ Jay, Phil D. "Joseph Parker edges Andy Ruiz Jr. to take WBO heavyweight title". World Boxing News. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Joshua vs Parker: Anthony Joshua completes wide points win over Joseph Parker in Cardiff". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Whyte vs Parker: Dillian Whyte out-points Joseph Parker after three combined knock-downs". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  11. ^ "Boxing: Joseph Parker knocks out Alexander Flores in third round victory". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Joseph Parker v Alex Leapai: Parker gets frustrating victory with 10th round stoppage". Stuff NZ. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Joseph Parker praised for 'explosive' return against Shawndell Winters". Stuff NZ. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Junior Fa added to Taranaki Explosion Fight Night card". Stuff NZ. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Junior Fa plotting path to take on NZ boxing champion Joseph Parker". Stuff NZ. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Junior Fa claims vacant New Zealand heavyweight crown". World Boxing News. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Boxing: Elbow injury hampers Junior Fa in 'stinker' of a fight". New Zealand Herald. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  18. ^ "World Boxing Organization Ranking". WBO. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  19. ^ "New Zealand's biggest fight since David Tua and Shane Cameron is getting closer". Stuff NZ. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  20. ^ "Boxing: Domestic scrap between Joseph Parker and Junior Fa moves step closer". New Zealand Herald. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Joseph Parker's trainer Kevin Barry unleashes verbal blows on Junior Fa". Stuff NZ. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Boxing: Joseph Parker v Junior Fa looking unlikely due to money negotiations". Newshub. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Boxing: Junior Fa camp says money is sorted for mega-fight but sanctioning body a sticking point". NZ Herald. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  24. ^ "PM says Auckland will move to level 1 this week". Radio New Zealand. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Boxing: Joseph Parker v Junior Fa confirmed as surprise snag hits showdown". New Zealand Herald. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Joseph Parker urged to convert frustration into fury after delay to Junior Fa bout". Stuff. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  27. ^ "Light vs Mose". One News. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  28. ^ "Boxing: New date confirmed for Joseph Parker v Junior Fa fight". NZ Herald. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Joseph Parker v Junior Fa". Duco Events. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  30. ^ "Joseph Parker vs. Junior Fa Set for December 11 in Auckland". DAZN. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  31. ^ "Israel Adesanya sets new pay-per-view record for UFC in New Zealand". Stuff NZ. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  32. ^ "Boxing: Exclusive - Joseph Parker splits with trainer Kevin Barry". New Zealand Herald. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  33. ^ "Boxing: 'We've made some changes' - Joseph Parker's new trainer on how he'll get Kiwi heavyweight back to the top". Newshub. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  34. ^ "Boxing: Junior Fa knocked out by Lucas Browne". New Zealand Herald. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
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