Meet the brave teen who came back from the dead
Joseph Parker has become a dad a month before the biggest fight of his life — but the heavyweight champion has to wait a few more days before he can meet his “blessing” of a daughter.
Parker and high-school sweetheart Laine Tavita are the proud new parents of Elizabeth Ah-Sue Sala Parker.
A glowing Tavita said mum and daughter are home and doing well, while a pleased-as-punch Parker also spoke of his joy from Las Vegas, where he is putting in the final preparation for the biggest bout of his career.
“She was born on Monday last week,” Parker told the Herald on
Sunday. “It would have been nice to have been there to see her when she arrived, but I'm pretty focused on the task ahead.
“It's a blessing to have a daughter, and I look forward to meeting her when I get back to New Zealand next week.”
Parker, one of the hottest properties in New Zealand sport, missed his sister's wedding to focus on training. At the time, the 24-year-old paid tribute to his sister Elizabeth and her new husband Fonua Fuavao with a special blessing to the couple on his social media sites.
Now Parker — often referred to as Gentleman Joe — has paid his sister the ultimate compliment by naming his new daughter after her.
“I watched the wedding through Skype and shed a few tears,” Parker said. “I'm really close with my family.”
Baby Elizabeth also carries the name of Parker's mother, Sala.
Parker says he is using the emotions of being away from his family as extra fuel for his WBO title fight against Andy Ruiz Jr at Vector Arena on December 10.
“It's given me extra motivation to train harder. I want to win because I've missed these special occasions.”
It's shaping up to be a huge payday for Parker and his new family, with his purse likely to be $1m-plus.