The World Boxing Association (WBA) Oceania president, Ferlin Marsh, has announced that they are currently reviewing video footage of the recent fight between New Zealand’s John Parker and Fiji’s Alivereti Kauyaca, which took place in Hamilton last week.
In an email to RNZ Pacific, Marsh indicated that he has enlisted the help of four international boxing judges to analyze the footage and provide their assessments following a complaint made by Farmaan Ali, Kauyaca’s trainer and manager.
Ali reached out to Marsh, calling for a declaration of a ‘no contest’ and requesting a rematch, contesting the split-point decision that favored Parker. In this bout, two judges awarded the victory to Parker, granting him the WBA Oceania cruiserweight title, while one judge scored the match in favor of Kauyaca.
“I have received the complaint from Mr. Ali regarding the decision in the fight between John Parker (NZ) and Alivereti Kauyaca (Fiji), which occurred last Saturday at the Glowbox Arena in Hamilton,” Marsh stated.
He added, “I acted on the complaint immediately upon receiving it and reviewing the fight footage. The WBA Oceania does not take kindly to the use of the term ‘robbed’ in our title fights, which is why I requested a copy of the fight from Mr. Ali.”
Marsh mentioned that he has already reviewed the fight and has sought the opinions of four other international boxing judges, with one judge having provided his score while the remaining three have until the end of the week to submit theirs.
He acknowledged that boxing can be a contentious sport where close fights often leave one party dissatisfied. “Unless there is a clear knockout (KO), there will invariably be someone unhappy with the outcome,” he explained.
Ali has expressed that the decision rendered by judges Arden Fatu and Joshua Niyka appears to be a ‘hometown decision against Kauyaca.’ He characterized the call as “totally” biased and noted that the public is confused by the judges’ decisions. Ali also questioned why the WBA chose these judges for the match.
Meanwhile, John Parker’s team has yet to respond to inquiries regarding the situation.