Parker is ranked third in the WBO world rankings and Fa is ranked sixth. Both South Auckland fighters are aiming for a shot at the WBO world title and the winner of this highly anticipated bout will put them on a trajectory for a World Heavyweight Title shot.
Fa's promoter Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment, said it is biggest fights in New Zealand history.
"I've always believed that Junior Fa had the ability to become a world champion and, on December 11, he'll have the opportunity to prove that against a former heavyweight champion and amateur rival, in countryman Joseph Parker," DiBella said.
"Not only is this match-up one of the biggest fights in New Zealand history, it has high significance on the heavyweight landscape worldwide, with the winner closing in on a world title shot. With a win, Junior can become a New Zealand sports superstar and a worldwide boxing star in one night. I'm proud to co-promote this historic fight card with David Higgins' Duco Events and Matchroom."
Duco Events, Spark Sport and media partner New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) also announced a New Zealand first three-way partnership to finally get Parker and Fa in the ring.
"The Parker Fa match-up sits perfectly with Spark Sport's purpose to deliver premium live and on-demand sports to a wide-reaching audience. The arrangement between Spark Sport, Duco Events, NZME and the support of presenting partner Stonewood Homes is a great example of not just sitting back and waiting for a sport to come to you, instead we've all got together and made it happen. This will be our second major pay-per-view event after we streamed the Whyte Povetkin bout back in August, so we're excited to bring this Kiwi based event to New Zealand as the exclusive broadcaster," said Head of Spark Sport, Jeff Latch.
Getting the Parker and Fa fight over the line has taken more than eight months of negotiations with the boxers, yet the innovative partnership between Duco Events, Spark Sport, NZME, with the support of presenting partner Stonewood Homes, was pulled together in less than eight weeks, demonstrating the enthusiasm to change the way sport is delivered and promoted in New Zealand, while also ensuring the event took place this year and on Kiwi soil.
"It's been a tough year for New Zealand sports fans with so little in the way of world class live sporting events since Covid-19 hit," said NZME Chief Revenue Officer Paul Hancox.
"For NZME this event encapsulates why we are committed to delivering the very best content to our audiences and advertisers, keeping Kiwis in the know. We are proud to support a spectacle like this, alongside Spark Sport and Duco, to bring sport back to a big arena where it deserves to be," Hancox said.
The heavyweight boxing match-up also marks the return of large-scale marquee events, with 9,000 expected to fill-out Auckland's Spark Arena for the December 11 event. Tickets will start from $69.
Pay-per-view will be priced on a tiered model with super early bird pricing of $39.99 available from today increasing to $49.99 on 27th October.
