The president of the World Boxing Association (WBA) Oceania, Ferlin Marsh, has announced that they are currently analyzing video footage from the recent fight between New Zealand’s John Parker and Fiji’s Alivereti Kauyaca, which took place in Hamilton last week.
In an email response to RNZ Pacific, Marsh mentioned that he has enlisted the help of four international boxing judges to review the footage and provide their insights following a complaint filed by Farmaan Ali, who is Kauyaca’s trainer and manager.
Ali’s letter to Marsh requested that the fight be declared a ‘no contest’ and called for a rematch, challenging the split-decision victory awarded to Parker. Two judges scored the fight for Parker, hence granting him the WBA Oceania cruiserweight title, while one judge favored Kauyaca.
“Yes, I have received the complaint from Mr. Ali regarding the decision of the fight between John Parker (NZ) and Alivereti Kauyaca (Fiji), which occurred last Saturday at the Glowbox Arena in Hamilton,” Marsh confirmed.
He noted that he acted on the complaint immediately upon receiving it and had reviewed the fight, stating that the WBA Oceania does not take lightly the use of the term “robbed” in any title fight outcomes. Consequently, he requested a copy of the fight from Ali for further analysis.
Marsh reviewed the fight and subsequently asked four international boxing judges to watch it and submit their scores. He has received feedback from one judge so far, while the others have until the end of the week to respond.
Marsh acknowledged that boxing can be a contentious sport, where close matches often lead to dissatisfaction. “Unless there is a clear knockout (KO), invariably someone will not be happy with their fighter losing,” he remarked.
Ali claimed that the two judges who favored Parker—Arden Fatu and Joshua Niyka—made a “hometown decision against Kauyaca.” He described the ruling as “totally” biased and indicated that many are confused by the decision.
Furthermore, he expressed concerns regarding the selection of the two judges for the fight.
As of now, Parker’s team has not issued any comments on the matter.