The Trusts Arena in Auckland, New Zealand has a big Heavyweight fight between Australia’s veteran Kali Meehan (42-5) and Joseph Parker (15-0) , who is New Zealand’s top heavyweight prospect this Thursday.
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The age difference may be the most telling factor in this fight, as Meehan is now 45 years old, while Parker is still just 23. Meehan has had a solid career fighting in his native Australia, and most people will remember him for his game split decision loss to Lamon Brewter in Brewster’s first fight as WBO World Heavyweight title after Brewster had knocked out Wladimir Klitschko.
The judges gave the fight to Brewster with scores of (113-114, 115-113, 114-113), so he was literally that close to the heavyweight title. If that seems like a long time ago, it is because it was back in April of 2004, so Meehan is old now.
Meehan was active throughout 2014, when he came back after a layoff of 27 months. In June of 2014 he won three fights of three rounds in one night to take home the crown in a tournament labelled the “Super 8”, and he closed out the year with a November win over Shane Cameron (29-4).
After that fight, Meehan appeared to retire, saying he would only fight again if it was something big, and f not he would dedicate himself to training boxers, including his son.
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Joseph Parker is something big, and he is poised to make an impact on the world heavyweight scene. Parker is trained by Kevin Barry, who won an Olympic Silver Medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Barry never turned pro, but he has been training boxers ever since, and Parker is his protege and one of the top prospects to come out of New Zealand ever.
Parker has been to Germany and been a sparring partner for World Champion Wlad Klitschko, and he has done parts of his training camps in Las Vegas, so he has already gotten a taste of the highest levels of fighting. In the end, Parker has been shrewdly managed during his development and Meehan is a seasoned opponent considered another step up for Parker.
Parker is already (3-0) in 2015 and has won all his fights by KO against increasing levels of competition. Meehan is next in line.
The card also features Willis Meehan (3-0) on the undercard taking on Leamy Lakopo Tato (1-3). Willis is Kali’s 20 year old son, and he plays professional Rugby in Australia. Kali Meehan has been training a group of professional rugby players over the last years, and the group includes elite rugby player Sonny Bill Williams.
Should Willis or Williams or one of the other rugby players that are trained by Meehan these days dedicate themselves to boxing completely, they could find themsleves chasing Parker as they try to avenge Parkers mashing of Meehan. Because that is what is most likely to happen when the fight goes down.
Check out the latest video blog where we review the odds for the fight.
