The biggest Kiwi fight of the last decade has arrived.

The unbeaten WBO #6 Junior Fa steps up against former World Champion and current WBO #3 Joseph Parker, both on home soil at Auckland’s Spark Arena. 

Parker and Fa were originally set to meet late last year, but Fa was a withdrawal, requiring to bow out after blood tests revealed that he had a health issue requiring surgery.

Stepping back into the ring after losing the belt to Anthony Joshua, and a subsequent bout with Dillian Whyte, Parker has gone on to win three consecutive fights, all via stoppage. More recently, Parker has stopped Shawndell Winters in the fifth round of the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas. Despite this, it will nearly be an entire year between fights, but the home-grown talent isn’t worried about the time between.

"We'd been working really hard to ensure I peaked in December and delivered a performance that would have made the heavyweight division sit up and take notice," Parker said in a press release. "So it was very disappointing when Junior had to postpone. But these things happen in boxing. The good thing is that Junior is now on track to be 100 percent fit and ready to go in February. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Meanwhile, for Fa, this will be the fight of his professional career, but there’s been a significant wait since the last fight for this, having not entered the ring since November 2019. This is in part due to the health issue that has plagued him, but willing to put the past behind him, Fa believes a win over Parker will get him into a prime position for his first ever title shot.

"It is never ideal when these things happen," Fa said. "However, I'm happy and relieved to confirm I'm now well and truly back on track. I've been looking forward to this fight for a long time now, so to once again have a date locked in is great. Joseph Parker has held a world title before, so when I beat him, I'll be a giant step closer to realizing my own dream."

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Joseph Parker vs Junior Fa