Heavyweight bout delayed by one day
AUCKLAND: New Zealand heavyweights Joseph Parker and Junior Fa will have to wait slightly longer than expected to square off after their upcoming bout was pushed back.
Initially scheduled to be held on Friday, December 11, the 12round clash will now take place on Saturday, December 12 at Auckland’s Spark Arena.
The fight was originally scheduled as a Friday night affair due to the possibility of clashing with an All Blacks game on the Saturday.
However, with the All Blacks now playing their final game of the slimmeddown Rugby Championship in late November, the decision was made to move the fight back a night.
The fight being held on the
Saturday night increases accessibility for fans hoping to watch in person, especially for those travelling from outside Auckland.
Holding the fight on a Saturday also ensures the event maximises its potential for international viewers, the event now reaching markets such as the United Kingdom and Europe on a Saturday morning.
Those who have tickets but can no longer attend the event due to the change in date will be able to get a refund.
‘‘As a nonworking day for many, Saturday provides the best opportunity for more people to attend the event, especially those travelling to Auckland from all around the country,’’ Duco Events director David Higgins said.
‘‘The is the biggest heavyweight contest in New Zealand history and we think it has the chance to break the current New Zealand payperview record.’’ —
Club cricket starts tomorrow but there was a grassroots game played in the weekend, or should that be a greyroots game. Otago and Canterbury over 50s team played a 45over match in Timaru and Canterbury recorded a threewicket win.
Otago posted 208. Adam Fairmaid (44 not out) and Paul Henry (29) made the major contributions. Canterbury reached the target in the last over. Ryan Dowling and Gerard Finnie took two wickets apiece for Otago. The game was a trial to help select the OtagoCanterbury side for the national interprovincial tournament in Auckland in January.
Is anyone going to buy Spark Sport so they can watch the Black Caps this summer? Notes From Slip has stumbled across some very grumpy tragics around the watercooler recently. Not sure how the demographic will adjust to the idea of streaming their beloved game.