Junior Fa

[bart]

Caught behind the ear by a heavy geezer throwing a wide heavy punch.
Hard to critique that performance as was so short, if I was to though maybe he lacked authority and focus - looked very passive. Browne should have been cannon fodder for a motivated Fa of the Parker fight.
Where to no is the issue.... is there a way back? Does he even want it?

[diehard]

You often take those Browne like punches on the head and counter. Except it landed flush on the temple or behind the ear and did huge damage. He was twitching on the canvas. Very scary stuff. If I wuz Fa, which I'm not, I'd see it as a wild lucky punch thrown by a brawler and keep fighting if he's still motivated.

Go fight a Zhang like fighter who's ranked for peanuts, win the fight, and you're back in the mix. No one's going to see Fa as a threat anymore. Take advantage of that.

[bart]

Not sure he beats a Zhang though Die
A Dave Allen UK fight...

[diehard]

Junior Fa's team to appeal KO result due to 'illegal' punches
By Patrick McKendry, Digital Sport Reporter
8:37pmSource: 1News

Junior Fa’s management team claim their heavyweight boxer was hit by two illegal blows to the back of the head in his shock defeat to Lucas Browne and have instructed their solicitors to lodge an appeal.

South Aucklander Fa was stopped in the first round of his fight against 43-year-old Australian Browne in a huge upset on the undercard of the George Kambosos v Devin Haney main event at Melbourne’s Marvel Arena on Sunday.

It was only Fa’s second defeat in 21 professional fights after he lost on points to Joseph Parker in February last year and if it stands it will be potentially career damaging.

“We’ve put the lawyer on notice and we’re putting in an appeal tomorrow,” Fa’s manager Mark Keddell said in an interview with 1News on Sunday night, adding that his man was “distraught” by the result but physically okay after appearing to have convulsions in the ring.

“He got hit on the back of the head,” Keddell added. “We didn’t see it – we thought he got hit on top of the head – there are no replays at the stadium. We couldn’t see anything. We were literally facing Lucas’s back. We’re absolutely gutted that it happened. Junior is just distraught. We’ve had other promoters call us already saying it was an illegal shot.”

The broadcast appeared to show Fa, 32, being hit in the left temple by a short right hand from Browne, who has been knocked out twice in his last five fights, including by former league player Paul Gallen.

It happened mid-way through the first round and Fa was staggered by the blow, one of his legs jerking alarmingly, before he fell to the canvas and continued twitching.

However, he beat the count before quickly being felled again by Browne with what appeared a more obvious unintentional blow to the back of his head. It was then that referee Jeffrey Eddy stopped it.

Keddell was adamant both shots were unintentionally illegal and that the first affected Fa's nervous system, hence the convulsions. He added that Fa had his own doctor in his corner and that he didn’t need hospital attention afterwards. Fa would be monitored over the next 24 hours.

Asked why the corner, including experienced City Kickboxing trainer Eugene Bareman, didn’t stop the fight after the first knockdown, Keddell replied: “We literally couldn’t see anything. We were right behind Lucas. After watching the video, yeah we were horrified and absolutely would have called it if we had seen the convulsions. It happened very quickly and we didn’t see the shot. We have a very experienced corner.

“Junior has been knocked down before and has recovered really nicely. It’s the nature of heavyweight boxing. We weren’t aware of the damage. The referee should have stopped it – we didn’t know how hurt he was.”

Fa, who competed admirably against Parker last year, with some saying he should have been awarded the decision, appeared heavier for this fight.

But Keddell denied he took Browne lightly. “He got Covid 12 weeks ago and was quite sick. That was the first three weeks of the camp and that’s why he was three or four kilos over what he should have been. But he was looking great – Junior was going off in sparring, he was looking amazing.

“We prepared hard for Lucas. We didn’t count the Paul Gallen fight at all. We know Lucas can be up and down at all. We know he can punch hard. We didn’t take him lightly, not all. We had a great campaign, the guys who were sparring Junior will tell you what shape he was in.”

Keddell said Fa was due to return to Auckland on Monday night.

[diehard]

Smart decision. I don't know how far back in the head the punch has to be to be illegal, but shrouding it in controversy is much, much better than saying he got KO'd in the first and his career is in jeopardy. Hope they call it a ND and have a rematch, maybe in the Kambosos/Haney rematch?

BTW, I thought this was going to be the co-main event, not the first fight of the evening on PPV...

[bart]

I think they are clutching at straws myself. The fist KD was def legit looked just above the ear and Junior on both KD's turned his head so hardly Brownes issue

[diehard]

I think they are trying desperately to save his career, and found a way to possibly do it by challenging the illegal shot. It's like, "oh well, he got hit illegally, let's move on to the next opponent." Folks will remember (hopefully) the controversy and not the KO.

[Infern0]

I just saw a slow motion gif of the shot that did the damage and Browne threw a wide looper that was clearly aimed at the back/side of the head and not the face, Junior turned into it which made it worse.

Bradley called it an illegal punch and it was, Browne is a dirty fighter, PED cheat, the business.

That being said this shouldn't have happened anyway as Fa should have been way too much for Browne to even land a shot like that.

I'm concerned about Fa because Browne can really hit and getting smashed in the back of the skull by him isn't good, Junior was having real issues and I'm concerned about neurological damage, it's gonna be a slow road back.

[Infern0]

(06-05-2022, 08:24 PM)mippy Wrote: What's the deal with Fa? Did he just get caught or has he still got medical issues? Browne got blasted out by Gallen in one.

I thought this fight was way below Fa's level

Fluke shot or medical issues or something like that, possibly a concussion in sparring?

Browne was coming off ko losses to Dave Allen and Paul Gallen who no offence to them but they are club fighters. 

Fa was coming off a competitive loss to JP who is a former world champ who obviously we know is at a high level.

The levels between the two were world's apart, it doesn't compute. 

[Kiwi]

Sadly - Fa hardly ever seems to come with the intensity he is capable of - except when fighting JP

Maybe it is health issues or just lack of focus and intent

Browne won that fight fair and square