Heavy hitter targets the top
Kiwi-born Tongan heavyweight who ended Joseph Parker’s Olympic dreams fights to fulfil ambitions, says Liam Napier.
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JONLINE UNIOR Fa has driven over an hour from South Auckland to the North Shore for sparring. It’s a regular routine; out the door at 6am for work, home about 15 hours later after training. All part of his quest to provide for his young family and realise dreams of reaching the heights of the heavyweight division.
By the end of this year Joseph Parker’s former amateur adversary hopes to be a fulltime professional. But, for now, boxing alone doesn’t pay the bills or cater for son Ezra, 2, and four-monthold daughter, Hazel.
‘‘It’s a long drive but I think it’s worth it,’’ Fa says. ‘‘In six years from now I want to be world champion. It’s all about careful planning. It is a sport, but it’s a very big business. As long as I do the right things and control every aspect of this sport, I firmly believe I can get there.’’
The 26-year-old is mostly known for ending Parker’s hopes of attending the 2012 London Olympic Games with victory over the now Kiwi heavyweight contender at the Oceania qualifying tournament while fighting for Tonga.
Fa, whose real first name is Uaine, which means wine, split his four amateur fights with Parker two each. After three undefeated fights as a pro this year, and a fourth lined up on TV3’s new free-to-air boxing venture next Friday night, he is attempting to chart a similar path to his former rival.
‘‘I used to fight Joseph Parker quite a lot back in the day. As long as I control my career and make sure I’m winning the right fights in the right way I’ll be able to meet with him again in the ring one day and put on an awesome show for New Zealand. That all depends on me because he’s at the top and I’m just starting out so I’ve got to catch up.’’
Parker isn’t the only highprofile professional Fa has gone toe-to-toe with. His near decadelong amateur career took him around the globe, including two Commonwealth Games in India (2010) and Scotland (2014).
Fa’s bronze medal from Delhi sits alongside other trophies at his parents’ house. But it’s memories of squaring off against the English duo of Commonwealth gold medallist Joe Joyce and Olympic champion and IBF title-holder Anthony Joshua that drives his pro ambitions.
Those matchups took place around the World Series of Boxing, an elite league of amateurs who fight across the world for different franchises over five three-minute rounds.
‘‘I used to train with Anthony
LAWRENCE SMITH/FAIRFAX NZ Joshua before he was famous. The first time I sparred him no-one knew him and I didn’t expect much but he beat me up. Four years later he carried on to win the gold in the London Olympics and is now a world champion pro so training with him was a great experience.’’
Fa has all the attributes to carve a successful pro career. His long left jab can control distance when used effectively; he has power in both hands, but must learn to use his natural gifts; to box and not brawl.
Questions remain about his chin and he absorbed plenty of lessons about improving his footwork by going 12 rounds in three sparring sessions with Carlos Takam, the Cameroonborn Frenchman Parker toppled last month to claim his mandatory IBF world title shot.
‘‘Takam showed a lot more technique than I thought. Sparring with a guy at that top level showed me the type of footwork you need.’’
Fa always seemed destined for boxing. But his father, a champion fighter in Tonga, wouldn’t let his Papakura-raised son dabble in the sport until he turned 15. One session in an Otara gym hooked Fa – and he’s been fortunate to be guided for much of his career by respected coach Lolo Heimuli, who also trains Kiwi UFC star Mark Hunt.
Heimuli brought Fa back to his Balmoral gym in 2006 after discovering his coach failed to show at his first amateur fight.
‘‘He raised me in that gym for a long time,’’ Fa said. ‘‘He’s the reason I’m this good – him and my dad.’’
Henry Schuster, Shane Cameron’s former coach, has assumed Fa’s tutelage in the past month. ‘‘He’s a very talented boy,’’ Schuster said. ‘‘He’s big; he’s strong. I hate doing pads with him, he just about breaks me in half.’’
Fa clearly has commitment and talent in spades. From here the rest is up to him.