Junior Fa, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound heavyweight prospect from New Zealand, has signed with promoter Lou DiBella and will make his American debut Feb. 25, DiBella announced Monday.
The 27-year-old Fa (9-0, 6 KOs) will fight Keith Barr (17-10-1, 7 KOs), 32, of Glenville, West Virginia, in a scheduled eight-round fight on the undercard of heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder's defense against Gerald Washington at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, Wilder's home state.
DiBella said the signing is his first since a recent alliance with Australian boxing agent Brendan Bourke to seek out talent for him in the Asia Pacific region.
As an amateur, Fa, who took up boxing at age 16, was the 2009 New Zealand national super heavyweight champion, a gold and silver medalist at the Oceania championships in 2010 and 2012, respectively, as well as a bronze medalist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Fa also owns a pair of amateur victories over countryman Joseph Parker, who in December won a heavyweight world title in Auckland in one of the biggest sports events in New Zealand history.
"The physically imposing Junior Fa has the size and skills to make an impact in an era of heavyweight giants," DiBella said. "His power and amateur pedigree, including two wins over Joseph Parker, have put him on the map in the Asia Pacific region. He now looks to make his mark on the U.S. and the boxing world."
Said Bourke: "I'm happy to have facilitated DiBella Entertainment's signing of heavyweight prospect Junior Fa. Junior has everything you want in a heavyweight: height, reach, punching power and fast hands. America is going to love this guy."
Managed by Mark Keddell and trained by Henry Schuster, Fa turned pro last February.
The 27-year-old Fa (9-0, 6 KOs) will fight Keith Barr (17-10-1, 7 KOs), 32, of Glenville, West Virginia, in a scheduled eight-round fight on the undercard of heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder's defense against Gerald Washington at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, Wilder's home state.
DiBella said the signing is his first since a recent alliance with Australian boxing agent Brendan Bourke to seek out talent for him in the Asia Pacific region.
As an amateur, Fa, who took up boxing at age 16, was the 2009 New Zealand national super heavyweight champion, a gold and silver medalist at the Oceania championships in 2010 and 2012, respectively, as well as a bronze medalist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Fa also owns a pair of amateur victories over countryman Joseph Parker, who in December won a heavyweight world title in Auckland in one of the biggest sports events in New Zealand history.
"The physically imposing Junior Fa has the size and skills to make an impact in an era of heavyweight giants," DiBella said. "His power and amateur pedigree, including two wins over Joseph Parker, have put him on the map in the Asia Pacific region. He now looks to make his mark on the U.S. and the boxing world."
Said Bourke: "I'm happy to have facilitated DiBella Entertainment's signing of heavyweight prospect Junior Fa. Junior has everything you want in a heavyweight: height, reach, punching power and fast hands. America is going to love this guy."
Managed by Mark Keddell and trained by Henry Schuster, Fa turned pro last February.
