Kiwi heavyweight boxer Junior Fa has maintained his unbeaten record with a unanimous decision win over American veteran Dominick Guinn.
After a first-round knockout in his last bout, Fa faced a much sterner test in the form of the 44-year-old Guinn in Temecula, California on Saturday afternoon (NZ time).
Guinngave Fa plenty of trouble in the middle rounds of the bout, knocking him down in the fourth.
After feeling each other out for the opening three rounds, Guinn took charge and landed some clean combinations against Fa, sending him to the canvas early in the round. Fa easily beat the referee's count and maintained his composure to see off Guinn's attempts to put him away.
Fa took a strategic approach into the fight. In 50 professional fights before the bout, Guinn had never been knocked out and boasted a 37-12-1 record.
So while he was conservative in the opening rounds, Fa had to step up the aggression after being knocked down, and did so from the start of the fifth.
He maintained a high work rate until the final bell rang out at the end of the 10th. Guinn's durability and footwork showed late in the fight, as he was able to absorb and avoid a number of heavy shots from Fa.
However, the latter rounds belonged to Fa, who took all three of the judges scorecards: 98-91, 98-91 and 97-92.
