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Junior Fa details road back to the ring following mystery surgery

February 5, 2021

The fighter’s camp has tightened up on everything from media coverage, to who's in the gym while he trains, as he continues to recover.

Heavyweight boxer Junior Fa has opened up about the struggles he faced after having surgery in October for an undisclosed health issue, postponing his clash with Joseph Parker.

With the long awaited heavyweight showdown just over three weeks away, Fa is now back to fighting fitness, however it wasn’t long ago that his mystery illness and surgery left him bedridden for over a fortnight.

“For two to three weeks, I couldn't do anything, and that was basically it, and then as the weeks went on I started to slowly jog, starting punching the air a little bit,” Fa said.

Fa has been flying under the radar since his mystery surgery, tucked away in a corner at Auckland’s City Kickboxing and despite sharing the details of his recovery, he is still hesitant to divulge what the surgery was for.

“If I choose to let people know then I’ll let everyone know but apart from that, nah. I feel like stuff like that is like personal, so I don't feel the need to tell,” he said.

The 31-year-old’s surgery meant the long-anticipated bout between himself and Parker was put on hold.

Parker used the extra time however, to get surgery on his troublesome elbows and Fa suspects his opponent will still be on the mend.

“I don't think he would've 100 per cent healed from those surgeries you know, so I think he'll still probably be a bit sore.”

With both fighters recovering from medical procedures, their respective camps will be looking for signs of weakness, prompting Fa’s team to tighten up on everything from media coverage, to who is in the gym while he trains.

Fa says that although the surgery has lowered people’s expectations of him, he still holds himself to the highest standard.

“People probably don't expect much from me. I expect the world from myself and that's what I’m doing to myself,” he said.

“I know I’m definitely capable of beating Joseph Parker. I'm training for it and if they don't want to take it seriously then that's up to them and they'll find out on the night.”

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