An all-Kiwi heavyweight clash between Joseph Parker and Junior Fa is finally a reality and the intrigue in making this long awaited fight will carry into the ring.
But who wins a match-up that has plenty of history and feeling attached to it?
Here are some key areas to weigh up with the fight confirmed for December 11 at Spark Arena in Auckland.
They’re both Kiwi born but this is a south Auckland special – Parker with his Samoan heritage against Fa with his Tongan roots. They have an amateur history that needs to be sorted after it ended at 2-2. Fa’s second win over Parker halted Parker’s chances of making the 2012 London Olympics, a loss that helped convince Parker it was time to turn professional.
Parker is 27-2 with 21 KOs. Fa is 19-0 with 10 KOs. Parker has fought 165 rounds as a professional while Fa has 82 rounds under his belt. Fa is two years older at 30 and has a significant physical advantage – he’s 1.96m to Parker’s 1.93 but Fa has a 2.04m reach compared to Parker’s 1.93m. For their most recent fights Fa weighed in at 121kg while Parker was at 111kg.