The World Boxing Association (WBA) Oceania president, Ferlin Marsh, has announced that they are currently reviewing video footage of the recent boxing match between New Zealand’s John Parker and Fiji’s Alivereti Kauyaca, which took place in Hamilton last week.
In a response to RNZ Pacific via email, Marsh mentioned that he has enlisted the help of four international boxing judges to analyze the footage and provide their assessments. This comes after a complaint was filed by Farmaan Ali, the trainer and manager of Kauyaca.
Ali expressed his dissatisfaction with the split-point decision that favored Parker and has formally requested that the WBA declare the fight a ‘no contest’ and arrange a rematch for his fighter. In this bout, two judges awarded the victory to Parker, securing him the WBA Oceania cruiserweight title, while one judge scored the fight in favor of Kauyaca.
Marsh acknowledged receipt of Ali’s complaint regarding the match held at the Glowbox Arena in Hamilton. He stated that he acted promptly upon receiving the complaint and reviewing the fight footage, emphasizing that the WBA Oceania takes issue with the term “robbed” in any title fight. He has requested a copy of the fight from Ali for further analysis.
After reviewing the match, Marsh engaged four additional international boxing judges to assess the fight and report back with their scores. One judge has already submitted their assessment, while the others have until the end of the week to respond.
Marsh noted that boxing tends to be a contentious sport, where close contests often lead to dissatisfaction among those involved. He remarked, “Unless there is a clear knockout (KO), invariably someone will not be happy with their fighter losing.”
Ali accused the judges who scored in favor of Parker—Arden Fatu and Joshua Niyka—of making a biased, “hometown decision” against Kauyaca. He described the outcome as “totally” unfair, adding that many are perplexed by the judges’ decision. Ali also questioned the WBA’s choice in selecting these judges for the bout.
As of now, John Parker’s team has not responded to inquiries regarding the situation.