11-20-2020, 04:03 PM
Parker-Fa fight postponed after Fa's blood test rules him out
Marvin France
The much-awaited Joseph Parker-Junior Fa boxing bout has been postponed after a blood test from Fa ruled him out of stepping into the ring on December 12.
Promoters Duco Events are hoping to reschedule the Auckland bout in either late February or early March next year, with a press conference scheduled for Monday.
“We saw an issue in sparring and in training for a few days, we had a routine blood test anyway on the Friday, and because of the blood test result on Monday the doctor said we weren't cleared to fight in four weeks,”’ Fa’s manager Mark Keddell told Stuff.
“We've spent a lot of time with surgeons and specialists over the last few days getting things under control ... so now he's got to have an operation on Tuesday."
Fa suffered a health scare three years ago after tests discovered low iron and haemoglobin levels, undergoing minor gastric surgery as a result.
Keddell said it was a different issue on this occasion but declined to give any more details that the Parker camp could use to their advantage
Junior Fa’s blood test has ruled him has long operated in the shadow of Joseph Parker. Now he gets a chance to prove a point in the professional ranks.
"It's one of those things that you keep your cards pretty close in this game," Keddell added. "You don't want people taking advantage of you and your condition, so we're keeping things pretty tight. It's probably something we'll talk about more after the fight."
While Fa was "devastated" by the news, Keddell was confident that he would return stronger than ever.
"The guy's in amazing shape, he's got a six pack which is quite amazing four weeks out from a fight in the heavyweight division. He's an absolute Adonis when you look at him and just something wasn't working and it required surgery to fix up. It's just one of those things that we've got to do."
Duco Events owner and Parker's manager David Higgins is working with stakeholders to finalise a new date but took the setback in his stride.
Higgins pointed to the 2009 blockbuster he staged between David Tua and Shane Cameron, which actually benefited from suffering a similar delay.
"I've been an event promoter for 16 years and boxing’s the gift that keeps on giving," Higgins said. "We've had postponements before. In the David Tua-Shane Cameron fight, Shane Cameron took a tune-up (fight) beforehand and broke his hand and that delayed the event a few months. At the time I thought it was the end of the world but in hindsight, it made it a much bigger event. It gave it a bigger lead time and more excitement built.
"The key thing is we want both boxers at 100 per cent peak fitness competing at the highest level ... so there was really no choice but to delay a few months."
Stuff
Marvin France
The much-awaited Joseph Parker-Junior Fa boxing bout has been postponed after a blood test from Fa ruled him out of stepping into the ring on December 12.
Promoters Duco Events are hoping to reschedule the Auckland bout in either late February or early March next year, with a press conference scheduled for Monday.
“We saw an issue in sparring and in training for a few days, we had a routine blood test anyway on the Friday, and because of the blood test result on Monday the doctor said we weren't cleared to fight in four weeks,”’ Fa’s manager Mark Keddell told Stuff.
“We've spent a lot of time with surgeons and specialists over the last few days getting things under control ... so now he's got to have an operation on Tuesday."
Fa suffered a health scare three years ago after tests discovered low iron and haemoglobin levels, undergoing minor gastric surgery as a result.
Keddell said it was a different issue on this occasion but declined to give any more details that the Parker camp could use to their advantage
Junior Fa’s blood test has ruled him has long operated in the shadow of Joseph Parker. Now he gets a chance to prove a point in the professional ranks.
"It's one of those things that you keep your cards pretty close in this game," Keddell added. "You don't want people taking advantage of you and your condition, so we're keeping things pretty tight. It's probably something we'll talk about more after the fight."
While Fa was "devastated" by the news, Keddell was confident that he would return stronger than ever.
"The guy's in amazing shape, he's got a six pack which is quite amazing four weeks out from a fight in the heavyweight division. He's an absolute Adonis when you look at him and just something wasn't working and it required surgery to fix up. It's just one of those things that we've got to do."
Duco Events owner and Parker's manager David Higgins is working with stakeholders to finalise a new date but took the setback in his stride.
Higgins pointed to the 2009 blockbuster he staged between David Tua and Shane Cameron, which actually benefited from suffering a similar delay.
"I've been an event promoter for 16 years and boxing’s the gift that keeps on giving," Higgins said. "We've had postponements before. In the David Tua-Shane Cameron fight, Shane Cameron took a tune-up (fight) beforehand and broke his hand and that delayed the event a few months. At the time I thought it was the end of the world but in hindsight, it made it a much bigger event. It gave it a bigger lead time and more excitement built.
"The key thing is we want both boxers at 100 per cent peak fitness competing at the highest level ... so there was really no choice but to delay a few months."
Stuff