I’m in Freckled Wonder’s corner for this contest

Forget the hype, the gloats about glass body parts and telephone number pay-for-views. ‘‘Bigger’’ means much more than moolah – it’s also about aura.

In boxing’s bellicose world, is anyone now, or hereafter, likely to label Parker-Joshua ‘‘The Fight of the Century’’?

Yet, that was the appellation applied the first time a Kiwi (albeit an adopted son) fought for a world title.

No-one gave Timaru-raised Bob Fitzsimmons – variously dubbed the The Fighting Blacksmith, the Freckled Wonder or just plain Ruby – a chance against the champion, Gentleman Jim Corbett, when they squared off in a purpose-built outdoor ring in Carson City, Nevada on St Patrick’s Day in 1897.

Fitzsimmons, a blown-up middleweight, tipped the scales at

75.7kg – Joseph Parker’s fighting weight is 112kg.

The Kiwi hit the canvas in the middle rounds, but got back to his feet and became stronger as the fight grew longer.

Fitzsimmons knocked out Corbett with a punch to the solar plexus in the 14th round to claim the title.

Four thousand punters watched the fight, with the gate totalling $US22,000 – chickenfeed compared with the Cardiff bonanza, expected to reach $NZ40 million.

The fight was filmed for a documentary screened in cinemas around America with Fitzsimmons and Corbett each reaping 15 per cent of its earnings. Some reports claimed the movie brought in up to $US750,000 – which would have meant Fitzsimmons reaped just over $US100,000 (equivalent to $US845,000, or $NZ1.1 million, today).

How does history regard the Fitzsimmons-Corbett clash?

The Sweet Science magazine dubbed it, in a 2005 retrospective, ‘‘the most anticipated prize fight of the century featuring the two most prestigious heavyweights of the late

1800s.’’

Boxing News 24.com has since hailed it ‘‘The Fight of the Century’’, a contest ‘‘between two of the greatest, most prestigious prizefighters of all time’’.

How good was Corbett? Ring Magazine ranked him in 2003 as the eighth best puncher in boxing history – one place ahead of George Foreman.

So it’s hard to claim that Parker’s clash with Joshua is as eagerly anticipated as Fitzsimmons’ date with Corbett.

It could also be argued, that David Tua’s rumble with Lennox Lewis in 2000 was a bigger deal, simply because of Lewis’ stature as arguably the last truly great world heavyweight champion,.

Tua – unlike Parker – didn’t have a world title – but he was the No 1 ranked WBC and IBF challenger.

He’d lost just one of 38 fights by 2000 – most by knockout. Lewis, then, was a bigger drawcard than Joshua now. The former Olympic Games gold medallist already held the WBC, IBF and IBO titles. His two previous defences were over in two rounds yet the Kiwi challenger – cut for the first time in his career – went the 12-round distance.

Still, Lewis controlled the fight, winning unanimously on points, with Tua struggling to fire full-blooded shots.

Numbers-wise, it didn’t stack up against the Cardiff extravaganza – with just 10,809 people present and a gross gate of $6.5 million and 420,000 pay-per-views (Joshua had 880,000 when he beat Wladimir Klitschko last April).

But Lewis still earned $US8.5 million (worth $US12.1 million today) and Team Tua trousered $US3.5 million (around $US5 million now). Parker’s tipped to bankroll $13 million.

So, is Parker-Joshua really bigger than Lewis-Tua? Only trainer Kevin (The Common Denominator) Barry would really know – and, of course, he’s going to say yes.

History repeats, so they say, and Parker seems to have found Tua’s pre-fight script. The Tuamanator claimed 17 years or so ago that Lewis was lazy fighter, who got tired after two or three rounds.

‘‘He gets vulnerable. His chin is very suspect.‘‘

Sound familiar, folks?