Parker vs Meehan - Parker wins via third round TKO
Round three: Parker continues to back him up, teeing off as soon as Meehan hits the rope. Thundering right hook puts Meehan down!! He's not going to answer the count, this one is over! Click above for video highlights.
Round two: Parker wobbles Meehan with some stinging combos to the head, left and right hook connecting as the crowd erupts. Meehan somehow keeps his feet, he's still looking seriously dazed, Parker growing in confidence with every shot landed. Meehan backed up and eating shots from all angles, that's a 10-8 round in my books.
Round one: Parker extends the jab early, searching for his range. First overhand right from Meehan, doesn't quite find its target. Both fighters feeling each other out, Parker with the pressure now as he backs Meehan into the corner on the back of a couple of body shots. Parker tagging with left and right now, Meehan's felt that power. Brutal left hook as the first round winds to a close. Excellent start for Parker.
11:04pm - Predictably rousing applause as Parker is introduced. Let's get it on!
11:01pm - The hometown hero Joseph Parker strides ahead in his typically relaxed and confident manner, followed in file by his cornermen holding a title belt aloft each. There are a few of those to go around in the Parker camp these days.
10:56pm - The fighters about to make their respective entrances, Kali Meehan finishes up some last minute target practice with his son Willis and makes his way to the ring.
10:44pm - Main event not far away now people, hang in there.
Jeff 'The Hornet' Horn vs Alfredo Blanco - Horn wins via unanimous decision
Round ten: Blanco out on his feet now. Horn punishing him with body shots until finally, and mercifully, this one comes to an end. That's a ten round shut out for Horn, the hugely-promising Aussie continues to impress.
Round nine: Blanco hanging in this one admirably, the Argentinian simply isn't on The Hornet's level talent-wise.
Round eight: Horn having some real fun out there now, tagging Blanco high and low.
Round seven: 'You're cruising,' says Horn's corner in between rounds. An accurate assessment. Blanco has never been stopped, the man can certainly handle a punch but he's yet to offer too many of his own. Horn light on his feet, sticking and moving and looking for that body. Horn measuring his shots as he traps Blanco in a corner, brutal straight right ends the round.
Round six: Blanco starting to get frustrated, unable to find Horn with some wild, looping shots. Horn moves away and counters, slipping shots at will. Horn feigns, digs a deep body shot to the ribs.
Round five: Horn dictating the pace expertly, Blanco much heavier on his feet now.
Round four: The crowd groans as Blanco continues to eat some jarring shots, Horn using his superior footwork to create all sorts of punching angles. Blanco with a quick flurry, lands one straight right to the chin of The Hornet. Another round Horn's way.
Round three: Looks like Horn may have opened a cut above Blanco's left eye as he continues to come forward, varying his levels nicely and landing some pin-point shots now. Blanco looking weary as Horn sits down on some more heavy body shots, huge round for the Aussie.
Round two: Blanco switching between southpaw and orthodox, he's an awkward proposition. Horn starting to land more regularly, remaining patient. Weighty uppercut as he presses Blanco into the corner again, rips off a lightning four punch combination to finish. That's likely two in the bag for Horn.
Round one: Horn stalking Blanco as he looks to establish his range. Blanco quick to fire back, his intentions clear from the outset. Horn pressing the action, controlling the centre of the ring. Blanco loops a couple of right hands which graze Horn, the latino has come to fight. Close opening round.
9:52pm - Horn making his entrance now to the strains of 'Seven Nation Army', the White Stripes' masterpiece first employed by the mighty Miami Heat and since near-spoiled by sports-induced saturation.
9:49pm - Out strides the Argentinian Blanco, he's never been stopped in a fight but he'll have his hands full in this one. The Hornet stings accordingly.
9:37pm - Co-main event is on its way, highly promising Aussie Jeff Horn taking on Alfredo Blanco.
Brown Buttabean vs Kaleni Taetuli - Brown Buttabean wins by decision
9:33pm - Here comes the decision...one judge has it a draw, the other two score it Buttabean's way.
9:27pm - Incredible flurry from both fighters as they stand toe to toe and swing for the fences, the Trusts Arena crowd is loving this. Buttabean looks to be landing the more significant blows, superior conditioning pulling him through here. Most decisive round of the fight goes Buttabean's way, we may have a draw here.
9:24pm - Buttabean comes out much more aggressively, he realises winning this round is crucial. Neither fighter able to score much through that one, should go Buttabean's way however. One round to come.
9:22pm - Buttabean continues to talk to Taetuli as they close out round two. A tighter one, but I think that's also Taetuli's. Two rounds to come.
9:18pm - Taetuli catching Buttabean early with some heavy combinations, the Bean covers up and offers his opponent a knowing nod. Round one of four to Taetuli.
9:13pm - Taetuli, who's laced them up for the Southland Stags, has made his way to the ring. Out strolls the Buttabean to the strains of Metallica's 'Wherever I may roam'. $20,000 on offer here for Taetuli if he can repeat the knock-out heroics of their previous fight.
9:06pm - Coming up next we have the rematch between the Brown Buttabean and Kaleni Taetuli, the novice from Invercargill who stunned him with a KO win in the deep south their last time out. Clearly there's been no love lost between the two, there was quite the scuffle at the weigh-in yesterday. If you missed it watch here.
Gunnar Jackson vs Daniel Maxwell - Jackson wins via unanimous decision
9:01pm - Bell sounds for the end of the sixth and final round, Maxwell swings away in the final ten seconds but it won't amount to much. Another comfortable sweep for Jackson.
8:52pm - Round four comes to a close and it's all Gunnar Jackson, Maxwell really hanging tough but he's struggling to land anything meaningful. Two rounds remaining.
8:45pm - Jackson maintains his dominance in round two, Maxwell looks to be in survival mode already.
8:40pm - Efficient opening round for Jackson, landing some heavy body shots as he puts one in the bag. These two have fought in the past, Jackson winning every round on the way to a unanimous decision win.
8:38pm - Jackson vs Maxwell underway, both fighters coming off a loss and eager to get back on track.
8:29pm - Some fresh shots from the behind the scenes, the man himself having those ample mitts wrapped.
8:24pm - Gunnar Jackson is about to make his way to the ring to take on veteran Daniel Maxwell in a middleweight bout.
8:16pm - Seconds into round two and it's playing out exactly as the first round ended, finally the referee calls a halt to the fight. Meehan not shy with expressing his disgust at the referee's failure to stop the fight earlier. Willis Meehan wins via second round TKO
8:13pm - Meehan backs Leamy into a corner, stands flat-footed, and just unloads power shots to his head. Leamy looked to be out on his feet, curious inactivity from the referee there. The bell 'saves' him.
8:12pm - Dominant opening round for Meehan, jarring gulf in quality between the two fighters as the big man tags Leamy at will.
8:10pm - Next up we have the son of tonight's headliner, Willis Meehan, taking on local Leamy Tato.
8:02pm - Well our first fight of the evening was over as quickly as it began, Izu Ugonoh of Poland, one of Parker's main sparring partners, lamped Ghanaian national champion with a straight right in the first round which promptly ended proceedings. Another impressive win for Ugonoh who looks a fighter of serious promise. Izu Ugonoh wins via first round TKO
Commentary will start from around 8pm. In the meantime check out the video above for a preview of tonight's main event.
Fight Card:
Izu Ugonoh ($1.10) vs Ibrahim Labaran ($6.00) - Izu Ugonoh wins via first round TKO
Willis Meehan ($1.05) vs Leamy Tato ($8.00) - Willis Meehan wins via second round TKO
Gunnar Jackson ($1.10) vs Daniel Maxwell ($6.00) - Gunnar Jackson wins via unanimous decision
Brown Buttabean ($1.80) vs Kaleni Taetuli ($1.90) - Brown Buttabean wins by decision
Jeff Horn ($1.06) vs Alfredo Blanco ($7.50) - Jeff Horn wins via unanimous decision
Joseph Parker ($1.06) vs Kali Meehan ($7.50)
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Pre-fight banter
Parker faces biggest test yet
By Ross Karl
I'm excited about tonight's fight.
It's not that I haven't looked forward to Joe Parker's bouts before, it's that this time he has an opponent who should ask serious questions of his technique.
Kali Meehan is less of a stepping stone and more of a boulder for Parker to climb over. He's big, he's experienced and if it wasn’t for a dodgy decision against Lamon Brewster in 2004, he would have been the WBO heavyweight champion.
None of Parker's previous opponents have that kind of pedigree. Brian Minto had lost a 2010 cruiserweight world title shot against Marco Huck but he was too small to be a decent heavyweight.
At 45-years-old, Meehan can't match Parker's hand-speed or athleticism, but 18 years as a pro means he has a lesson or two for what he calls "young lions".
Meehan has a 13cm reach advantage on Parker and is very adept at keeping opponents at an arm's length. He also bears forward well and likes to dictate terms. None of Parker's previous opponents have truly tried to set the tempo of the fight.
At 6ft 5in and 110kgs, Meehan is also a very powerful man. 32 of his 42 wins have come by knockout and they say the last thing a boxer loses is his power. His right hand is a serious weapon.
Don't underestimate Meehan’s physical abilities. He is in tremendous shape for a veteran. A mixture of bodyweight exercises, swimming and a marathon 80 rounds of sparring have prepared him well. He won't blow out early.
It will be a good test for Parker, who has been hit in the past. Marcelo Luiz Nascimento perforated his eardrum and Afa Tatupu opened up a big cut above his left eye. Since then he's worked heavily on his defence, especially keeping his chin down.
For a while, trainer Kevin Barry made him train with a tennis ball under his chin, to make sure he keeps it behind his front shoulder. Solid defence will be needed because in 47 fights Meehan has only been stopped early three times.
But for all of Meehan's boxing nous and skill, he shouldn't be able to stick with Parker for 12 rounds.
Parker is in the top 15 with three of the four main sanctioning bodies. Meehan isn't in any. Parker is seen around the world as one of the next wave of promising heavyweights, along with former Olympic Champion Anthony Joshua. To deserve that moniker he has to be able to beat veterans in the twilight of their careers.
To knockout wily, old characters you have to respect them. Parker and Barry have a heap of that for Meehan.
Barry's been schooling his student on the best way to beat an experienced big man. He's been working on the second, third and fourth waves of attack. That means Parker will bring different punches at different angles, off a base that looks the same.
Meehan will see Parker setup for a punch he's already seen but instead he'll get hit with something else. If he does it right, Parker will get inside and his tremendous hand-speed and growing power will be hard to stop.
If all goes to plan, Parker might have to work hard for the first six or eight rounds before going in for the kill against Meehan. Of course, his opponent is durable so it wouldn't be a complete surprise if it went the full 12.
Either way, Joe Parker’s 16th fight should be a big test.
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