There’s been a huge buzz building in Invercargill as we prepared to host ‘The Burger King Road to the Title: Joseph Parker Fight’ which was held at Stadium Southland last night.
Dubbed the “biggest corporate event in Southland this year” on the Stadium Southland website, the event was on-track to being a huge success – proving that Invercargill has the facilities and ability to host such events.
As a huge credit to the event (and to himself) Joseph Parker’s been out and about in the region over the past few days charming the locals, which served to build the momentum higher still.
The night itself exceeded all expectations. It was well-organised, well-planned, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Although boxing isn’t a sport for everyone, there’s no denying that at this level it’s a sport that requires great fitness and stamina both mentally and physically. Despite the apparent brutish violence of the sport, the best matches showcase the precision, skill, and strategy required to out-manoeuvre your opponent.
In saying that, the two biggest matches of the night were over in the first round.
The first saw Invercargill’s Kaleni Taetuli stepping into the ring for his debut. Knocking out David “the Brown Buttabean” Letele in an impressive 22 seconds, which proved to be a massive crowd-pleaser.
The second was of course the main event. Auckland’s Joseph Parker taking on Australian Bowie Tupou, knocking him out in a mere 63 seconds.
For a full report of the night’s results head on over to this report on Stuff. In the meantime here are a few of our favourite picks from the night. Click on each picture for the boxer’s names.
