12-09-2016, 06:40 PM
Former Kiwi world title contender Kali Meehan urges Joseph Parker to seize the moment
Auckland-born Kali Meehan fought Lamon Brewster for the WBO heavyweight title in 2004 and almost came away with the belt.
Joseph Parker may have the chance to become the first New Zealand-born world heavyweight champion this weekend, but were it not for a couple of dodgy judging decisions his shot at history would have been 12 years too late.
On September 4, 2004, Kali Meehan, the Australian-based Kiwi who retired after losing to Parker last year, fought Lamon Brewster for the same WBO heavyweight belt his compatriot is hoping to win against Andy Ruiz on Saturday.
Brewster, the champion, was fresh off a shock fifth-round TKO victory over the great Wladimir Klitschko. Meehan, on the other hand, was making only his second appearance in two years and few gave him a realistic chance of surviving against the American.
But unlike fellow Kiwi David Tua, who flopped in his world title bout against Lennox Lewis four years earlier, Meehan held his own against his more fancied opponent.
In fact, he did much more than that, arguably getting the better over the 12 rounds, including a brutal assault in the eighth with only the ropes and a granite-like chin preventing Brewster from dropping to the canvas.
"It would've been me if it wasn't for two judges," Meehan said when reminded of his chance to make history. "But that's life, that's boxing."
Controversial judging decisions are a dime a dozen in the sport.
But reports from the fight told of boos filling the Mandalay Bay arena in Las Vegas as the two judges in question scored the fight 115-113 and 114-113 in favour of Brewster, while the other had it 114-113 to Meehan.
Meehan, who was 34 at the time, has every right to carry a chip on his shoulder but, as he reflected on the result, he was simply grateful to have "my moment".
And the 46-year-old urged Parker to seize his own day in the sun against Ruiz when the bell rings at Vector Arena.
"I can't dwell on thinking I should have won that fight, it'll make me crazy. At least I can pass on my knowledge and experience to young fighters," he said.
"Even though I had all of these hiccups in my career it was still an awesome ride that I'll never forget and now I look at Joseph's ride.
"He looks like one of the good guys fighting for the title, not one of these loud mouths who talk all this trash, just someone who gets the job done and has that work ethic and what a ride he's having. The whole country's behind him and soon maybe the whole world will be behind him too."
The circumstances surrounding Meehan and Parker's dates with destiny could not be more different.
Despite spending the first 28 years of his life in Auckland, Meehan had largely slipped off the radar of Kiwi sports fans having moved across the Tasman six years before the Brewster bout.
Parker, meanwhile, has the weight of both New Zealand and Samoa on his shoulders and is heavily favoured to win on home soil
The 24-year-old has shown little sign of feeling the pressure since arriving from his Las Vegas base two weeks ago.
But just in case he was, Meehan shared a ritual he started from an early age that served him well under the bright lights of a title fight.
"I used to get nervous when I'd go to the fight but all it is is just me hopping in the ring and I'd practice doing just that; climb in the ring, get out, climb back in, get out," he said.
"And the time I remembered it was when I walking up the stairs to fight Brewster. That's when it came back to me, I had my own little moment there."
Meehan may have suffered a third-round TKO to Parker but he is firmly in his corner on Saturday, and has admired the way his team has carefully managed his progression.
While not ruling out an early finish, he believes it could take Parker until the ninth round to seal the deal and had a word of warning to those underestimating Ruiz's ability.
"I know one thing, a guy that's had 29 wins and has grown up in the sport and lives in Vegas, he's a hard man to beat," Meehan said.
"It's not as one-sided as it might look just by looking at his physique because he does come to bang.
"He's got some bad intentions."
- Stuff
Auckland-born Kali Meehan fought Lamon Brewster for the WBO heavyweight title in 2004 and almost came away with the belt.
Joseph Parker may have the chance to become the first New Zealand-born world heavyweight champion this weekend, but were it not for a couple of dodgy judging decisions his shot at history would have been 12 years too late.
On September 4, 2004, Kali Meehan, the Australian-based Kiwi who retired after losing to Parker last year, fought Lamon Brewster for the same WBO heavyweight belt his compatriot is hoping to win against Andy Ruiz on Saturday.
Brewster, the champion, was fresh off a shock fifth-round TKO victory over the great Wladimir Klitschko. Meehan, on the other hand, was making only his second appearance in two years and few gave him a realistic chance of surviving against the American.
But unlike fellow Kiwi David Tua, who flopped in his world title bout against Lennox Lewis four years earlier, Meehan held his own against his more fancied opponent.
In fact, he did much more than that, arguably getting the better over the 12 rounds, including a brutal assault in the eighth with only the ropes and a granite-like chin preventing Brewster from dropping to the canvas.
"It would've been me if it wasn't for two judges," Meehan said when reminded of his chance to make history. "But that's life, that's boxing."
Controversial judging decisions are a dime a dozen in the sport.
But reports from the fight told of boos filling the Mandalay Bay arena in Las Vegas as the two judges in question scored the fight 115-113 and 114-113 in favour of Brewster, while the other had it 114-113 to Meehan.
Meehan, who was 34 at the time, has every right to carry a chip on his shoulder but, as he reflected on the result, he was simply grateful to have "my moment".
And the 46-year-old urged Parker to seize his own day in the sun against Ruiz when the bell rings at Vector Arena.
"I can't dwell on thinking I should have won that fight, it'll make me crazy. At least I can pass on my knowledge and experience to young fighters," he said.
"Even though I had all of these hiccups in my career it was still an awesome ride that I'll never forget and now I look at Joseph's ride.
"He looks like one of the good guys fighting for the title, not one of these loud mouths who talk all this trash, just someone who gets the job done and has that work ethic and what a ride he's having. The whole country's behind him and soon maybe the whole world will be behind him too."
The circumstances surrounding Meehan and Parker's dates with destiny could not be more different.
Despite spending the first 28 years of his life in Auckland, Meehan had largely slipped off the radar of Kiwi sports fans having moved across the Tasman six years before the Brewster bout.
Parker, meanwhile, has the weight of both New Zealand and Samoa on his shoulders and is heavily favoured to win on home soil
The 24-year-old has shown little sign of feeling the pressure since arriving from his Las Vegas base two weeks ago.
But just in case he was, Meehan shared a ritual he started from an early age that served him well under the bright lights of a title fight.
"I used to get nervous when I'd go to the fight but all it is is just me hopping in the ring and I'd practice doing just that; climb in the ring, get out, climb back in, get out," he said.
"And the time I remembered it was when I walking up the stairs to fight Brewster. That's when it came back to me, I had my own little moment there."
Meehan may have suffered a third-round TKO to Parker but he is firmly in his corner on Saturday, and has admired the way his team has carefully managed his progression.
While not ruling out an early finish, he believes it could take Parker until the ninth round to seal the deal and had a word of warning to those underestimating Ruiz's ability.
"I know one thing, a guy that's had 29 wins and has grown up in the sport and lives in Vegas, he's a hard man to beat," Meehan said.
"It's not as one-sided as it might look just by looking at his physique because he does come to bang.
"He's got some bad intentions."
- Stuff