Seconds out: Let’s canvass a fight night
BOXING is where you expect the unexpected, viewers of this week’s Joseph Parker-Afa Tatupu pay-perview programme on Sky were constantly told this week.
The programme – unexpectedly late to get to the screen as a result of some technical problems – certainly lived up to that billing.
Punters expecting a blink-and-youmiss-it main event watched the promising Parker finish the first round with a huge cut, courtesy of a head clash. The fight should have been stopped when he had Tatupu on the ropes at the end of the round, and some doctors would have called a halt despite trainer Kevin Barry’s plea for three more minutes.
As it happened, Parker needed much less than that to finish Tatupu off.
The young man marches on, albeit with a rather serious war wound, and attention now turns to David Tua’s battle next month with Belarussian behemoth Alexander Ustinov. Promoters Duco Events will fill the Hamilton venue for that night, and make some decent coin from the punters who watch on Sky.
The professional side of the sport has some good drawcards in New Zealand, and it’s no surprise to see regular servings of corporate, novelty and serious fights on televised cards, nor to see promoter Dean Lonergan goading Sonny Bill Williams to put his gloves on again and fight Parker.
Taranaki’s links to recent promotions have included Sam Rapira, who extended his short professional 100 per cent record this week; and surfer Paige Hareb, who was one Lonergan said during this week’s programme he would like to get back into the ring.
So with such a high level of attention, what chance that New Plymouth could be hosting a future event? The community has shown its interest; Rapira’s professional debut in April’s Naki Knockouts drew a packed house at the TSB Stadium.
And Lonergan himself has told the Daily News he wants to see Parker fight around the country and acknowledges the organisational support Rapira enjoys.
It would certainly add another bow to the considerable number of prime events in Taranaki.
But it would come with a warning – expect the unexpected. In the case of Tua’s next fight, punters might expect to be bored. He is sparring with one of the fighters on this week’s card, Julius Long, in preparation for the Ustinov fight. It’s not because the American is good – he’s actually an awful boxer – but he is 2.16m tall, and as Ustinov is 2.01m it’s perfect preparation for the vertically challenged 1.78m Tua.
Long’s fight with former league star Jason Williams gave us a snap shot of the next Tua fight though. It’s likely to be a little and large version of Come Dancing in a boxing ring until one of them gets in a decent enough shot to drop the other.
It’s not necessarily what most boxing fans might want to shell out $40 for. So Lonergan and Duco will have to come up with some interesting stuff on the undercard. Expect the unexpected.