The World Boxing Association (WBA) Oceania president, 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 indicated that he has enlisted the expertise of four international boxing judges to review the footage and provide their assessments following a complaint made by Kauyaca’s trainer and manager, Farmaan Ali.
Ali reached out to Marsh, requesting a declaration of ‘no contest’ and a re-match for Kauyaca, contesting the split-decision victory awarded to Parker. The fight saw two judges score it in favor of Parker, granting him the WBA Oceania cruiserweight title, while one judge scored the bout for Kauyaca.
“I have received the complaint from Mr. Ali regarding the fight decision between John Parker (NZ) and Alivereti Kauyaca (Fiji), which took place last Saturday at the Glowbox Arena in Hamilton,” Marsh mentioned.
He added, “I acted on the complaint immediately upon receiving and reviewing the fight. WBA Oceania does not take lightly the term ‘robbed’ in any of our title fights, which is why I requested Mr. Ali to provide me with a copy of the fight.”
Marsh noted that he watched the fight and subsequently requested the four international judges to review it and share their scores. One judge has already submitted their score, while the others are expected to send theirs by the end of the week.
He acknowledged the contentious nature of boxing, stating, “In a close fight, there will always be someone who feels dissatisfied.” He emphasized that unless there is a clear knockout, at least one party is likely to be unhappy with the outcome.
Ali has accused the two judges who awarded the fight to Parker, Arden Fatu and Joshua Niyka, of making a ‘hometown decision against Kauyaca.’ He condemned the decision as “totally” biased, expressing that many people are baffled by the judges’ verdict. Ali also questioned the WBA’s decision to select these judges for the bout.
As of now, Parker’s team has not responded to inquiries about the situation.