Uaine Fa Junior (born 19 October 1989) is a New Zealand former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

he represented Tonga at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

, winning a bronze medal in the

super-heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for t ...

division; he also represented Tonga at the Oceania Championships, winning gold and multiple silver medals. His

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

-to-win percentage stood at 53%.

Amateur career

For much of his amateur career, Fa began under the guidance of coach and trainer Lolo Heimuli. Heimuli brought Fa to his Balmoral Lee Gar Gym in 2006 after discovering his coach failed to show at his first amateur fight. Being born and raised in

Papakura Papakura is a suburb of South Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. The ar ...

, New Zealand, Fa decided to represent

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

as an amateur. He was the

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

for Tonga on two occasions at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. At the Oceanian Amateur Boxing Championships, Fa featured in three consecutive events. In 2008 in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

, Samoa he won a silver medal. Fa fought for a qualification spot and progression into the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. He began with a points decision victory over New Zealand senior

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

champion, Isikeli Maama in the quarter-finals. He followed up with another win over

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Steven Rudic before losing out to Daniel Beahan on points in the final to gain gold. During 2010, Fa return home with a gold medal from the tournament held in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. He controlled an emphatic win over the host nations, Alexey Mukhin. Establishing himself an 8–1 score in his favor. He again had a chance to make it to the Olympics after having to win an Oceania gold medal to secure a position. Unfortunately, Fa instead won silver. He started off with a close win over New Zealand up and coming prospect and later rival,

Joseph Parker Joseph Dennis Parker, (born 9 January 1992) is a New Zealand professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Interim championship, interim heavyweight title since 2024. Previously, he held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 ...

. He continued his winning streak with a first-round technical knockout over Jubilee Arama in the semi-finals but lost the final against Johan Linde to settle for second place. Fa was drafted for two seasons of the

World Series of Boxing 250px, LA Matadors vs. Moscow Dynamo in Hollywood, CA on 4 December 2011. Both amateur boxers compete without vests or head guards. The World Series of Boxing or WSB was an international boxing tournament that allowed amateur boxers to compete p ...

. His first season was with the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n Mumbai Fighters Franchise as a mid season sign up for the 2011–12 season. He had a successful season and was ranked in the top 8 heavyweights for the series. His second season was during

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

where he was drafted by the

British Lionhearts The British Lionhearts are a British amateur boxing team that competed in the World Series Boxing tournament. History The British Lionhearts are an amateur team that was established in 2012 to compete in the third season of the World Series Box ...

where he fought the likes of

Oleksandr Usyk Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (, ; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the unified champion (boxing), unified heavyweight championship since 2021, and the ''The Ring (magazine), Ring'' magazine title since 2022 ...

and former multiple Olympic silver medalist, Clemente Russo. He was based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England training alongside the likes of

Anthony Joshua Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer. He held the unified champion, unified world heavyweight championship twice between 2016 and 2021. At regional level, he held the British Boxing Board of C ...

and Joe Joyce. His first encounter with Joshua was when he trained with him back in mid-2011 when Joshua was just starting out.

Parker rivalry

Fa and Joseph Parker fought four times during their amateur careers, with two victories and two defeats each. Their first encounter was at the 2009 Boxing New Zealand National Championships held in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

. The pair competed in the super-heavyweight final, Fa defeating Parker 8–4. Fa was also awarded the Bill O'Connor Cup for the youngest senior titleholder. A month later Parker forced a second-round standing eight count and a points win over Fa in a Samoan Tsunami Boxing appeal event at the

North Shore Events Centre Eventfinda Stadium (known from 1992–2018 as the North Shore Events Centre) is an indoor arena located in Wairau Valley, on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The arena opened in 1992 and has a capacity of 4,179. It was previously ...

, organised by

David Tua Mafaufau Tavita Lio Mafaufau Sanerivi Talimatasi (born 21 November 1972), known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua w ...

. On 12 June, they met for a third time in an amateur world-class contest rematch. It showcased as the main event at The Night of the Young Champions from ABA Stadium in 2010. Parker won by a large margin of twelve points. In their fourth contest, Fa and Parker fought in a do-or-die opportunity to secure a place at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

during the Oceania Boxing Championships in

, Australia. Parker had four opponents in the super-heavyweight division, one being Fa. Parker was eliminated, Fa claiming a closely fought three-round encounter eleven points to eight. He dropped the first round 2–1 but came back strongly in the second to secure a decisive 3-point lead that he protected when the final three-minute joust ended in

stalemate Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position ...

Professional career

Early beginnings

Fa turned pro in February 2016, where he featured at ''The Night of the Freaks'' from ASB Stadium, Auckland. After taking three years out of the sport to have a family, Fa decide to return to the sport. Assembling an impressive team, Lolo Heimuli as coach, former New Zealand Olympic sprinter Mark Keddell as manager,

Shane Cameron Shane Aaron Cameron (born 17 October 1977) is a New Zealand professional boxer. He is a former Commonwealth cruiserweight champion, having also held several regional titles at heavyweight. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight ...

as mentor along with input from strength and conditioning guru Angus Ross. Fa fought veteran Richard Tutaki, winning in a first-round knockout. Something Fa's amateur rival,

couldn't do as it took him three rounds in his third bout. In only his second professional fight, Fa was added to the ''Taranaki Explosion Fight Night'' card on 2 April. Fa showing he was far too good for Clint Foa'i whose corner threw the towel in during the first round after their fighter was hit hard in the ribs, his pain obvious. Fa fought in quick succession after another successful victory over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n based Jayson Aloese, participating in the Royal Rampage event. Aloese whom was undefeated as both a corporate boxer and a professional, lost on points in a four-round fight by unanimous decision. Fa remained unbeaten, extending his record to four and zero. In the co-main event, New Zealand prospect Fa won his second unanimous points victory in a one-sided contest against fellow

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

er Junior Pati. Fa landing big punches and huge shots, but could not end the fight early with Pati being remarkably durable. Fa also switched coaches, learning off Henry Schuster. Progressing to five straight victories, Fa added another win to his professional record, knocking out his debuting countryman Tussi Asafo in the first round. The fight took place at

ABA Stadium Auckland Boxing Association Stadium (also known as ABA Stadium) is a New Zealand venue for combat sports hosting over 150 events in boxing alone. ABA Stadium is also recognized for its grassroots of boxing. The earliest reported professional boxi ...

, listed as the main event at ''FA WARS: The Force Awakens''. In the buildup to the bout, Fa injured his leg which hindered his training two weeks prior the fight. He then fought

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

n heavyweight Alapati A'asa on Joseph Parker's undercard against

Alexander Dimitrenko Alexander Viktorovych "Sascha" Dimitrenko (; born 5 July 1982) is a Ukrainian-born German former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019, and held the European heavyweight title from 2010 to 2011. Amateur career Dimitrenko began boxin ...

. Fa used his significant reach advantage effectively, keeping busy with his jab to frustrate A'asa who struggled to get on the inside. Although A'asa kept busy with his stalking style but found few inroads against Fa's defense which included some great footwork to get out of troubling situations. Sustaining an unbeaten record, Fa once again finished with another early first-round knockout. The co-main event at CTP's ''Judgement Day'', Fa fought Junior Maletino Iakopo, however the fight ended quickly after Fa's power finished Iakopo early. Closing in on Fa's debut year as a professional, he featured once again on one of New Zealand's most promising boxing events, The Big Bash. Hosted by Auckland Netball Centre in Auckland and broadcast on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

. Originally scheduled to fight Daniel Tai for the vacant

NZPBA New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) is one of the four governing bodies for the sport of professional boxing in New Zealand. NZPBA is a non-profit organisation. History The body was founded as South Pacific Boxing Association, wi ...

heavyweight title, but due to Tai's hand injury, the title bout was called off. Instead Fa fought in a four rounder against Moe Hussain. A former kickboxer, with a record of ten wins and six losses, took the fight on short notice. Fa destroyed his opponent, the quickest fight of the night, ending in thirty seconds within the first round by technical knockout. With details of the undercard revealed for Joseph Parker's world title bout against

Andy Ruiz Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr. (born September 11, 1989) is a Mexican-American professional boxer. He is a former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) ( Super version), International Boxing Federation (IB ...

, Fa was announced set to square off against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

's Pablo Matías Magrini, being Fa's toughest fight of his career. With eight fights since turning professional. Fa, was keen to showcase his skills with

Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including M ...

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

, one of many global promoters that watched on. But Fa was too strong, thumping Magrini with a third-round

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

, felling the diminutive Argentinian with a series of left-hand body blows. Late January 2017, it was announced Fa had agreed to terms signing a three-year deal, which included clauses for a possible fourth under the tutelage of

Lou DiBella Louis John DiBella Jr. is an American boxing promoter, minor league baseball team owner and television/film producer. Education DiBella was born in New York City, and he is a graduate of Regis High School later having continued his educatio ...

. DiBella, a former boss of HBO's Boxing set up and looking after seventy fighters, including WBC heavyweight champion

Deontay Wilder Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight champion si ...

, where Fa would be joining him as DiBella's only other heavyweight fighter. The deal would see him fight at least three times in the United States per year, flying over fifteen days before every bout. His first challenge would be on the undercard of Wilder's title defense against Gerald Washington on 25 February at the

Legacy Arena Legacy Arena (formerly known as the BJCC Coliseum and the BJCC Arena) is an arena located at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama. The arena seats 17,654 for sporting events, up to 16,250 for concerts and 6,000 i ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. Taking on

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n journeyman Keith Barr over six rounds. Fa won his fight against Keith Barr, of

Glenville, West Virginia Glenville is a town in and the county seat of Gilmer County, West Virginia, United States, along the Little Kanawha River. The population was 1,128 at the 2020 census. It is the home of Glenville State University. History In the late 1700s ...

, en route to a third-round knockout. Barr was knocked down three times before the fight was stopped by the referee. He beat down his opponent with left jab-right combinations time and again. He dropped Barr, in the second round and hammered him around the ring for most of the round. In the third round, he landed at will, connecting with about two dozen unanswered punches before a left hook to the body dropped Barr to a knee. Moments later, Fa landed another body shot for another knockdown, and referee Flynn Gerald waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 36 seconds. The win improved Fa's undefeated record to ten wins.

Career breakout

In March, Fa prepared for the vacant

New Zealand Professional Boxing Association New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) is one of the four Sport governing body, governing bodies for the sport of professional boxing in New Zealand. NZPBA is a non-profit organisation. History The body was founded as South Pacific B ...

heavyweight title against Daniel Tai, at the

in Auckland. It would be his first title shot. Tai, an Auckland-based fighter, had been fighting professionally since the year 2000, whilst he boasted a record of 22 wins and 9 losses. With only one loss coming by knockout, in 2001, by legendary

champion Danny Green. With the title being vacant for almost five years and last held by

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny William Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the cou ...

, this was Fa's most difficult fight of his career to note as he was hampered by a back injury and forced to live off the jab. Tai applied pressure and landed several clean blows throughout the bout Tai, however, Fa did enough to win most of the rounds. The judges were divided, however, with one judge scoring a draw in a disappointing majority decision win to Fa. Fa won his twelfth pro-fight after defeating veteran Australian boxer Hunter Sam by unanimous decision. Sam, the former Australian champion, proved to be a difficult opponent and played tough throughout the fight. The bout was the main event of the ''Indian Motorcycle Fight Night'' organised by New Zealand boxing legend

. He then featured as one of six undefeated prospects making their SHOBOX debut, being matched with

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

's Fred Latham in an eight-round bout. The fight took place at the

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

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, and telecasted on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

. Fa scored an impressive victory, knocking out Latham in the first round. His hand-speed, pressure, and punch selection were too much with referee Clifford Pinkney having no option but to stop the fight early. He returned to the United States, fighting the former three-time amateur champion, Craig Lewis in

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as the county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had its ...

. Fa was originally scheduled to fight Joey Dawejko. But he remained undefeated after going the distance, claiming a

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (at ...

win. Fa established the jab in the opening two rounds while looking to land a big right hand on several occasions. Lewis continuously tied up Fa but Fa landed the more power shots to earn the decision. Originally confirmed to fight Richard Lartey from

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, Fa instead fought the Mexican heavyweight champion Luis Pascaul for the interim WBO Oriental title. He headlined live on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre in Auckland, an event promoted by Shane Cameron and co-promoted by Lou DiBella. He won a unanimous points victory over Pascaul but gained criticism after failing to find combinations to back up some punishing one-off punches. Fa evidently won every round on the judge's scorecards with Pascual offering nothing on attack apart from lunging in for body shots. His main sparring partner

Malik Scott Dohonna Malik Scott (born October 16, 1980) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2016. Amateur career Scott started boxing at the age of 11 and had a stellar amateur career. In 1997, he won the J ...

was in the corner and persistently asked for more throughout the fight but Fa couldn't deliver.

Parker vs Fa

Professional boxing record

Personal life

Fa has three children. His son was diganosed with Autism at the age of two years old. Fa grew up going to

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. The same Mormon church as his former opponent

. Fa is married to his wife Talya Fa. In September 2019 Fa’s father, Uaine Fa, died from cancer while Junior Fa was away in Salt Lake City, Utah in camp for his fight against American Devin Vargas. Uaine Fa last message for Junior Fa was "Just keep fighting". Fa was born in New Zealand, however, his parents were born in Tonga.

Honors and awards

Amateur

*2009 New Zealand national amateur boxing

Super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and bodybuilding, competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Int ...

champion *2010 Oceania Championships

Gold medalist *2010 Commonwealth Games

Bronze medalist *2012 Oceania Championships

Silver medalis

Professional

*2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Male boxer of the year (Won) *2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards International fight of the year (Nominated)' *2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Knockout of the year (Nominated) *2019 Gladrap Boxing Awards Champion of the year (Nominated)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fa Jr., Uaine Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Heavyweight boxers Boxers from Auckland New Zealand male boxers Living people 1989 births Tongan male boxers People from Papakura Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Tonga New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Fighters trained by Lolo Heimuli Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in boxing