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Heavyweight contender Junior Fa believes that he exposed former WBO world champion Joseph Parker in their long-awaited showdown, which took place on Saturday night at Auckland’s Spark Arena.
Parker was a very big favorite to win the fight, but the contest had a lot of close rounds and there were many who felt the contest was a lot tighter than the scorecards indicated.
The judges saw it 119-109, 115-113 and 117-111 – with all three cards being tallied in the direction of Parker.
Far had no argument with the verdict. He felt the contest showcased his skills, with many observers making pre-fight predictions that Parker would win by knockout.
“I’ve made myself known to the world, I’ve exposed Joseph Parker,” Fa told Stuff. “I exposed a lot of his weaknesses. I felt I was the better boxer, but he played the game better.”
Parker, who planned to bag a statement making victory with a knockout, admits the fight was close than he anticipated. He felt the ring-rust, with being away from the ring for a year, played a role in the outcome.
“It was a great night. They came here to fight and it was a lot closer than expected. Fa put on a great performance and we have to go back and work on a lot of things,” Parker said.
“It just showed the ring-rust you can end up with after a year out.”
It appears Parker is now heading in the direction of a fight in the UK with dangerous contender Derek Chisora.
“I love the UK. I love the media, the respect, so welcoming to our team. We have gained a lot of friends and supporters there,” Parker said.