Boxing: Why Junior Fa and Joseph Parker won't get feisty before fight

Come December 11, Junior Fa and Joseph Parker will stand opposite one another under the bright lights of Auckland's Spark Arena, spending up to 12 rounds trying to tenderise each other.

But if you're expecting the pair to share heated exchanges before they step between the ropes, you are likely to be disappointed.

As the pair made very clear at the announcement of the highly anticipated heavyweight boxing clash, dubbed with the familiar title of Fight of the Century and sponsored by Stonewood Homes, there is no animosity here.

Instead, it's the opposite; two grounded men from South Auckland - one of Samoan descent; the other, Tongan - with a high level of respect for the other and both simply looking forward to the test awaiting them in one of the biggest heavyweight bouts of 2020.

But while there won't be any animosity, it could still get intense.

"The intensity will definitely pick up," Fa told the Herald. "As we draw closer to the fight, as our bodies get beaten down from training, there's a bit of spite going toward your opponent because you're training this hard for this guy.

"There will be a bit of tension there, for sure. I'm not sure if there are going to be any harsh words being said, because that's just not the way that I carry myself – I don't know about him – but I don't think you can expect too much from us in terms of us trying to promote the fight.

"We will promote the fight as best we can, but in terms of bad blood, there's nothing there. But that doesn't take away the fact that I'm training my hardest to knock his head off and I'd be a fool to think he's not doing the same thing."

Joseph Parker and Junior Fa will square off at Spark Arena in December. Photo / Photosport

Parker is a well-known entity to the New Zealand public, with 29 professional bouts – 20 of which have been fought on home shores, including his WBO title win over Andy Ruiz Jr in 2016.

Fa, who made his professional debut in 2016 – three years later than Parker, has made a strong start to his career with a 19-0 record, with 13 fights on home soil. But while his rise through the ranks has been going as planned, Fa is yet to meet the same level of professional opponent as Parker – whose resume includes unified champion Anthony Joshua and highly touted Englishman Dillian Whyte.

While Fa has already fought Parker four times at the amateur level, and has experience sparring with Joshua and former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, he admitted the opportunity for a professional bout against Parker came earlier than expected.

"It's a great way to end a pretty bad year," Fa said.

"In terms of it being early, I think it's early in terms of build-up but it's just what's there at the moment. I really wanted to build my profile a bit more so people in New Zealand know who I am the way they know Joseph Parker so it's like, a really big fight. It's still a big fight right now, just not as big as it could have potentially been.

"Profile, I think in anything, is important in terms of trying to make a big, big fight happen. In terms of promoting a fight, but it doesn't really change the outcome, you know? Just because people don't know me, that doesn't lower my skillset, so going into the fight I'll be just as confident as I would be if this fight happened a year and a half later. The confidence doesn't change, so I'm just preparing the best I can because I know this is going to be a hard fight."