The all-Kiwi heavyweight showdown between rivals Joseph Parker and Junior Fa will not, in fact, take place on December 12th. Fa’s manager, Mark Keddell, tells the NZ Herald that his charge “will have an operation on Tuesday” after a “routine blood test” revealed something he’s not willing to disclose.
“Junior’s essentially had an injury and he’s going to have a routine operation,” Keddell said, and, while the news was “devastating”, he didn’t see it affecting his fighter’s chances.
The new date “is expected to be in either late February or early March.” Parker (27-2, 21 KO) manager Dave Higgins claims that “all tables and ticketing remain valid” and that he’s working with Air New Zealand “to help those flying to the fight who have been affected.”
This is just the latest December tussle to get booted into next year; Tyson Fury’s December 5th return fell victim to legal trouble and Miguel Berchelt pulled out of his December 12th clash with Oscar Valdez after testing positive for COVID.
