Fa hopes Parker rivalry not over yet

It’s unlikely to happen anytime soon but after Saturday’s closer-thanexpected domestic battle, it’s hard to shake the sense that there may yet be another chapter in the Joseph Parker-Junior Fa rivalry somewhere down the track.

That was certainly the feeling emanating from the Fa camp after the 31-year-old frustrated Parker for long periods with his size and skill, despite losing via unanimous decision at Spark Arena.

It was a performance that had Fa insisting Parker, who is now chasing a date with British heavyweight Dereck Chisora, would avoid a rematch ‘‘at all costs’’.

To be fair, the former amateur rivals would probably need to string together a couple of exciting performances in order restore public interest after delivering a bout that was light on fireworks.

But after holding his own in his first major test against elite-level opposition, Fa was confident he would be even better if and when they next cross paths.

‘‘I know when he was progressing in the pro career people were putting him up here. Deep down I always know I’ve got his number, but he played it better than me [on Saturday],’’ Fa said.

‘‘I showed my level. I think they’re going to try and avoid me but I’m keen to fight him any time. We’ll just let things go in the path they chose. If it comes around I’ll take it with both hands.’’

Making Fa’s performance all the more impressive was the fact his preparation was hampered by a health scare that forced the bout to be postponed from December.

Fa required surgery at the time, the details of which were kept under wraps heading into the fight. But his manager Mark Keddell opened up on the alarming ordeal during the post-fight press conference that saw Fa suffer ‘‘catastrophic blood loss’’.

Fa insisted he felt great in the ring. Yet what it did do was force him to focus on the mental and tactical aspects of his game during training camp, which Keddell felt bodes well for the future.

‘‘We qualified for being able to put blood transfusions in him because his blood was so low’’ Keddell said. ‘‘To be able to get his haemoglobin levels from 88 back up to 150 in this amount of weeks is unbelievable.

‘‘It’s obviously gut-wrenching when you lose a fight like that. So we can’t wait to fight him again and we can’t wait to fight someone else good again.’’

While Fa may have put his name on the heavyweight map, the Covid19 pandemic remains a major hurdle to securing another big-name opponent.