The son of a Mongrel Mob president, former professional boxer Dave Letele is now helping South Aucklanders get jobs, get fit and get fed. Reiná Vaai meets the ‘Brown Buttabean’ at his Manukau HQ. “I should’ve been in prison or dead by now,” says Dave Letele, also known as Brown Buttabean. In his early 20s … Read more
Yesterday corporate boxer Kain Parsons succumbed to a brain injury sustained in a charity bout on Saturday night. He won’t be the last, writes Don Rowe. Content warning: suicide In November 1982, Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim was killed in his championship bout with Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini after collapsing in the 10th round. Four … Read more
Joseph Parker’s future in boxing demands a career-high performance this weekend, writes Don Rowe. At an undefeated 50-0, as the only fighter with career earnings of more than $1 billion, Floyd Mayweather may well be the self-proclaimed ‘best ever’ – but nobody on earth is mistaking him as the baddest. That honorific belongs to guys … Read more
A new documentary following New Zealand’s Joseph Parker offers fascinating background on the make-or-break moments of boxing, writes Don Rowe. Half an hour into Metamorphosis, the new documentary following Joseph Parker in the build up to his championship fight last March, there is an interaction that those of us on the far temporal side of … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, Joseph Parker is heading back to the UK to rejoin the hunt for the heavyweight title. What’s all this then? Joseph Parker has signed to fight British heavyweight Dillian Whyte in London on July 28. Parker’s fighting a … Read more
Joseph Parker came up short in his bout against heavyweight superstar Anthony Joshua this evening, but in doing so he might have won a bigger victory yet – that of class over crass. Don Rowe reports from Cardiff. Whoever wants to beat Britain’s Anthony Joshua from here on out better bring a second man or … Read more
In the final event ahead of Sunday morning’s historic heavyweight title fight, Joseph Parker and Anthony Joshua weighed in in front of 4000 drunken fans. Don Rowe reports from Cardiff. The propensity of the Welsh to drink may seem an exaggeration, but as the festivities kicked off at the weigh ins in Cardiff this afternoon, … Read more
This weekend, undefeated heavyweight champion Joseph Parker seeks to unify his belts against British superstar Anthony Joshua. Today they finally squared off at a press conference. Don Rowe reports from London in the first in a diary series leading up to the fight. It was grey and drizzly in Isleworth as the press hacks filed … Read more
As the country counts down to the Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz WBO world heavyweight championship fight, The Spinoff presents FIGHT WEEK, an inside look at the life and career of Joseph Parker. Today we’re republishing ‘Inside Team Parker’, the 1972 magazine cover story on the boxer’s rise and rise. Lupesoliai La’auli Joseph Parker is … Read more
As the country counts down to the Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz WBO world heavyweight championship fight, The Spinoff presents FIGHT WEEK, an inside look at the life and career of Joseph Parker, culminating in the Barkers 1972 magazine cover story Inside Team Parker on Friday. Today, Don Rowe follows Team Parker as they prepare … Read more
As the country counts down to the Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz WBO world heavyweight championship fight, The Spinoff presents FIGHT WEEK, an inside look at the life and career of Joseph Parker, culminating in the Barkers 1972 magazine cover story Inside Team Parker on Friday. First, a chronicle of Parker’s amateur experience and transition to … Read more
From Memphis, sports writer Ben Stanley reflects on the enduring social impact of Muhammad Ali, who died last week aged 74. “I am America,” legendary boxer Muhammad Ali once declared. It was 1970. He had been convicted evading the draft to serve in the Vietnam War, and was losing the prime years of his boxing … Read more
Former world champion kickboxer ‘Lightning’ Mike Angove will be in the best seat in the house tomorrow night when he calls Parker vs Takam. Here he provides an exclusive preview and breakdown of the richest fight in New Zealand history. Kiwi heavyweight hope Joseph Parker has skipped a year in his boxing education in an attempt at graduating … Read more
We asked 12 Rugby World Cup winning All Blacks for their Kiwi sporting hero of 2015. Six of them – Liam Messam, Victor Vito, Jerome Kaino, Beauden Barrett, Dane Coles and TJ Perenara – picked heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker. So, in the first of our All Blacks’ Kiwi Sporting Hero selections for 2015, Scotty Stevenson takes a look … Read more