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Parker vs Fa
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10-30-2020, 12:30 PM
Yep, I'm thinking Mr Higgins wants people to not have to work on the day of the fight. Hence, Saturday. Kudo's to Mr Higgins, and Markk for pulling this off. Markk negotiated well, and put Jr in a good position financially.
11-02-2020, 03:45 PM
Joseph Parker v Junior Fa: Points of difference on both sides as preparations ramp up
2 Nov, 2020 Leading into Junior Fa's upcoming bout against Joseph Parker, plenty will be made about the vastly superior experience Parker has, with names like Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte and Andy Ruiz Jr on Parker's professional resume. However, Fa has his own point of difference. December 12th's fight, in association with Stonewood Homes, will be Fa's first opportunity at top-tier talent and that gives him a hunger Parker won't have; but one Parker had in his win over Carlos Takam in back in 2016. "Junior has the hunger that Joseph had back then," Fa's trainer Eugene Bareman said. "You can only get that hunger once; it's the hunger that you have when you haven't stepped over that line yet, when you haven't gone to that next level. We're going to use that to the best of our ability in this fight to take advantage of the situation. "What's going to overcome Joseph's experience first of all is whether we can impose our strategy more than they can impose their strategy, and Junior's will – his will of mind and power and attitude to win that night; to be hungrier that night, to be hungrier than a person that has already achieved what Junior is trying to achieve. That's what we're building on; we're building on the fact that Junior is in the same position Joseph was when he fought Carlos Takam." While the bout was not officially announced until last month, it's a fight Fa's team have been hoping would eventuate and have been working towards for months already. With more than a month still to go until fight night, Bareman said Fa was hitting peak condition already, putting the team in a favourable position for the home stretch. "Word of this fight for us, even though it wasn't put on the dotted line, came relatively early and we started straight away," Bareman said. "Considering that Junior has been inactive because of the global situation at the moment, we got him on a fitness regimen, a weights regimen, a power regimen really early. If you look at him physically now, he's in the best shape that he's ever been in at this point. "He's actually at the point power-wise, fitness-wise and strength-wise, physically where we're don't want much more improvement. We're not going to get much more improvement which is fantastic for us because with the time that's left, we can spend it doing boxing. "In many, many camps around the world, that's not the case. Sometimes you have to do a lot of the camp getting the guy in shape before you can even start thinking about boxing. We don't have to do that, so we're taking that advantage into the fight."
11-03-2020, 10:13 PM
David Nyika looks to turn pro in bout on the Parker-Fa undercard
15 MIN AGO • SOURCE: 1 NEWS New Zealand Commonwealth Games boxing star David Nyika hopes to make his pro-debut on the Joseph Parker, Junior Fa undercard. David Nyika looks to turn pro in bout on the Parker-Fa undercardPlay Commonwealth Games golden boy Nyika has begun training with Joseph Parker. The two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist began training with Parker today in a closed session. 1 NEWS understands Nyika wants to fight on the undercard of Parker and Fa before competing at the Olympics next year. “There is the ability for David to turn pro and stay amateur. There's some complexities around it, where Boxing New Zealand have to be the sanctioning body,” Fa’s promoter Mark Kiddell told 1 NEWS. Meanwhile, Fa has been practicing fighting southpaw for his upcoming Kiwi mega-clash with Parker on December 12. “Joseph hasn't fought many southpaws, so we're aware that he doesn't have a lot of experience with them,” Kiddell says.
11-08-2020, 11:03 AM
Joseph Parker v Junior Fa: 'We don't know how Junior Fa is going to perform' on biggest stage, says Kevin Barry
9 Nov, 2020 For Joseph Parker, walking out to the ring as the headline act under the bright lights of Spark Arena next month will be nothing new. In his eight-year professional career, the 28-year-old has been the headline act in 23 of 29 bouts, and has fought on home soil 20 times. For Junior Fa, making the walk out to the ring for the Fight of the Century, in association with Stonewood Homes, will be a much less familiar position. Now 19 fights into his professional career, Fa has headlined five times, though none of those bouts have been on as big a stage as Parker has seen. For Parker's trainer Kevin Barry, the December 12 date will be telling of where Fa is in his career. "You don't really know until you step out and that big light is on you how you're going to react," Barry explained. "Now, we knew very, very early in Joseph Parker's career – the sixth fight against Francois Botha, where he was fighting a guy who was at the end of his career, but Joe was at the beginning of his – and he walked out to headline a pay-per-view card in New Zealand in his sixth fight with the swagger of a hardened professional. Since then, he's just grown and grown and grown. Joe has headlined 15 pay-per-view cards in New Zealand. In his career of 29 fights, 23 times he has been the lead act on a pay-per-view card. "We know what Joseph Parker does when the big lights come on. We don't know how Junior Fa is going to perform under those lights. But one thing we do know, this is a massive opportunity for Junior Fa. This is a life changing opportunity for him, so I believe we will see nothing like we've seen before – we'll see the very best Junior Fa has to offer." The Las Vegas-based Barry has returned to New Zealand to help with Parker's preparations for the bout which many boxing fans in the country have long believed would one day eventuate. It will be the first time in Barry and Parker's partnership that they have prepared for a fight in New Zealand. In the past, when they have a date in New Zealand they will arrive a couple of weeks beforehand for the back end of their preparation. But, given the current climate with the Covid-19 pandemic causing havoc around the world, the best option was to remain in New Zealand for the entire camp. Parker and Fa are no strangers to one another, having met four times in the amateur ranks with two wins each. However, those bouts were a long time ago and both have noted they don't hold much weight when it comes to the professional game. Instead, the December bout could hold title implications for both fighters in the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight division with both Parker (No3) and Fa (No6) ranked in the top 10. Parker held the title for about 15 months from late 2016 to mid-2018 before losing it to current holder Anthony Joshua, and a win over Fa could help is cause to getting another shot at the gold. "I leave all that to Kevin and (manager) David (Higgins)," Parker said of planning for the future. "I know the rankings are there, but my job is to just stay fit and fight anyone they put in front of me. "But first, I need a performance on December 12." 
11-16-2020, 03:06 PM
I note that Usyk is looking likely to strip AJ of the WBO belt
If Parker beats Fa then he will likely face Usyk for the championship
11-16-2020, 04:29 PM
Kiwi: Source? I know that the Usyk/Parker bout was talked about, but nothing definite if AJ is stripped. BTW, Parker is behind Dubois in the WBO. The WBO may? wait until after the Dubois/Joyce fight to decide who's the new title holder if AJ is stripped, or vacates...
11-16-2020, 04:46 PM
The talk is that Usyk will press for an AJ fight - or a WBO title fight. (ie. Stripping AJ).
You are right that Dubois may get it. I guess it is up to Hearn and Higgins to press their case with the WBO. I like their chances. Parker may well get to fight USYK. We will see...
11-16-2020, 05:27 PM
Dubois fights in two weeks against Joyce. The WBO has always been kind to NZ fighters, and Hearn's and Mr Higgins get along well. Would be interesting for the Usyk/Parker and the AJ/Parker fights happen in NZ, given the fact that we could get a live audience.
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