Training in Alabama alongside Deontay Wilder for their respective bouts on the Day of Reckoning card in Saudi Arabia, Junior Fa got an unexpected bit of news.
Going into the biggest fight of his career against Frank Sanchez next week, Fa was once again ranked among the top 10 heavyweight boxers in the world with the WBA.
Fa (20-2) has been ranked in the top 10 before, sitting at number six with the WBO when he fought Joseph Parker in 2021, but has had just one fight after back-to-back losses to Parker and Lucas Browne. That fight was a commanding win against a 0-6 opponent and happened over a year ago.
While Fa was happy to see a number next to his name again, he admitted it was a little bit strange.
“It just kind of meant nothing, to be honest. I just laughed at it. One of the bros sent it to me and was like, ‘Check this out, bro, you’re in the top 10′, and I was just like, ‘Oh, wow. I’ve literally just done nothing’. It looks good, but that’s it,” Fa told the Herald.
“Boxing’s funny. That’s why I didn’t really post it anywhere. I was just like, it’s boxing doing boxing, chucking me in the top 10 because I’m fighting. I didn’t fight for it at all.
“Like, it’s cool. I’m not bragging or doing anything about it. I definitely know how good I am, and I’m definitely going to be performing well on the night. In terms of game plan and if anything has changed, nothing’s changed. I’m still training hard for this fight.”
Fa faces a big challenge in Sanchez, with the Cuban holding a 23-0 record with 16 knockouts and a top-10 ranking with all four of the sport’s major organisations.
It’s a case of big risk, big reward for the 34-year-old Aucklander, who took the fight on with about six weeks’ notice and is one of four of the WBA’s top 10 heavyweights to be fighting on the card, alongside Sanchez (8), Anthony Joshua (3) and Wilder (1).
Fa has been called into camp with Wilder as a sparring partner in the past and was again brought in for Wilder’s preparations for Joseph Parker, which will be the penultimate fight on the card on Christmas Eve (NZ time).
Soon after being called in for sparring, Fa had his own fight confirmed on the card, and he’s been in camp with Wilder in a slightly different capacity this time around, as he too has a fight to train for.
“It’s a little bit different because usually, if I’m just here for sparring, I don’t really have anything specific that I need to work on. Whereas now that I have my fight, I have things that I need to stick to for my game plan.
“In terms of intensity or anything, it always stays the same, but right now it’s more focus on what I need to do to perform how I should be performing in the fight. Sparring just changes in that kind of aspect, that I have things that I need to work on and focus on.”
When asked what those things were, Fa laughed: “Huge right hand, huge left hook and knock him out.”
Fa has had Mike Angove, striking coach at City Kickboxing, in Alabama with him and has been in contact with the gym’s other coaches to make plans to hand Sanchez his first career loss. Fa said the gym’s head boxing coach, Doug Viney, has been sending him messages almost every day regarding the fight, his preparation and how he’s feeling.
“The plan’s all coming together. It’s nice.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.