Fa, fa away: Barry hits out at rival
A frustrated Kevin Barry has unleashed a tirade of verbal blows on Junior Fa (16-0) as talk heats up over a domestic clash against Joseph Parker (25-2).
Parker versus Fa is a matter of when not if but the timeline for the heavyweight collision could be lengthy with the fight almost certainly off the agenda in 2019.
The Kiwi heavyweights were both successful inside Horncastle Arena in Christchurch on Saturday, igniting calls for the biggest all New Zealand heavyweight clash since David Tua knocked out Shane Cameron in 2009.
Barry, who quickly became frustrated with questions surrounding a possible fight with Fa at a post-fight press conference after Parker knocked out Alexander Flores (17-2-1) in the third round, claimed Fa did not deserve to share a ring with Parker.
‘‘It’s a joke that he even gets mentioned in the same breath as Joe,’’ he said.
But Barry contradicted himself when he admitted Fa was offered the fight before Flores. That possibility was terminated when Fa’s team reportedly asked for $500,000.
‘‘But he said no. I’d rather fight a guy who had seven fights in seven years and lost four of his last seven fights by knockout and who is 37-years-old, come on, give me a fricken break,’’ Barry said.
Fa, who knocked out Rogelio Omar Rossi (20-7-1) just 1min 28secs into the fight, said he is keen to clash with Parker in 2019.
Rossi, a 37-year-old former cruiserweight, was a shadow of the man who challenged Marco Huck for the WBO world cruiserweight title in 2011.
The victory did nothing to impress an animated Barry.
‘‘Junior Fa’s not an option, come on,’’ Barry exclaimed in a tone of frustration.
‘‘When he fights somebody inside the world top 200, and I don’t say that as a joke, look at the record, look at the names, read their Boxrec’s, they need to start testing him.’’
But that was also a contradiction of sorts with Flores ranked 176th before the Parker fight.
‘‘If we’re ever going to get a fight together with him, they have to put him in with someone who is live,’’ Barry said.
Whether Barry truly believes what he is saying or he is just trying to build hype for the inevitable fight or both is tough to gauge but he does make a serious point.
Rossi was arguably the best scalp of Fa’s 16 wins. If the fight was to happen tomorrow, Parker, the former WBO heavyweight champion of the world, would be an overwhelming favourite.
Fa said he and Parker get on fine but he does not get the same vibe from Barry. ‘‘There’s not too much tension between us but I know his team doesn’t like me.’’
Fa believes the sooner the fight happens the better it will be for Parker because he is still developing.
Fa’s manager Mark Keddell, who said they would have liked a tougher fight than what Rossi offered, is in talks for a fight that he said would thrust Fa onto the world stage. ‘‘We’re negotiating a big fight at the moment so we’ll see how that goes. I think we’ve got some business to do that’s probably not to do with Joseph Parker for a couple or three fights,’’ Keddell said. at Wembley or must make do with the winner of the looming Dillian Whyte-Dereck Chisora British blockbuster remains to be seen.
Parker could have a shot at the leftovers if his desire to return to the UK is delayed, then has a marketable home fight to tie him over in the form of a trans-Tasman clash with Lucas Browne early next year.
Browne was the fallback option earlier this year when Parker was negotiating his title fight with Joshua. The nononsense Aussie is likely to fill a similar role. Team Parker are chasing bigger things but they will be comforted by having a backup fight with Browne they believe could spin decent money in Auckland.
A highly motivated Parker and his trainer Kevin Barry have done their job by demolishing Flores. As Parker said, he’s put his hand up again. Now we wait to see who shakes that hand for a fight deal. The pressure is on promoter David Higgins to try to deliver something worthy of the former WBO champion.
It’s too early to be talking of title fights for Parker – he has to prove his new game stands up against a genuine contender.
It’s a tricky equation from here and one Parker shouldn’t rush into like he did on short notice against Whyte.
His latest fight has got people talking about him again and he