Joseph Parker vs Jason 'Ironman' Bergman - Parker wins via eighth round TKO
Round eight - Parker just standing in front of Bergman and unleashing, at least four brutal shots to the body and down he goes again! Bergman makes his way to his feet but is swaying like a drunk, referee waves this one off. Parker with another impressive TKO victory. Click above for video highlights.
Round seven - The fans getting their money's worth tonight. Time called to cut some tape from Parker's glove. Uppercut from Parker, Kevin Barry calling for the 45 degree angle on it. Referee warns Bergman for clinching. Parker lands a straight right down the pipe, then a jarring left to the body. Bergman officially in survival mode, Parker loading up on the right and drops Bergman to his knee for a standing eight count! He manages to get back up, eats a few more shots until the bell saves him. The Parker shut-out continues.
Round six - It's uncharted territory now for Bergman as we enter the sixth round, struggling for breath. Parker backs him into the corner, lands the one-two and punctuates with a heavy left to the body.Parker extends the jab, landing at will now. bergman not offering anything offensively, just trying to defend Parker's diverse arsenal of punches. Parker sits down on a left to the stomach which sends Bergman to his knee at the bell. Chalk that one up for Parker.
Round five - Bergman breathing heavily at the start of the round, he's never been to six rounds and the humidity won't be helping his cause. Weighty right hand lands from Parker and immediately Bergman clinches, the American can barely stabilise as he only just escapes another eight count. Uppercuts on the inside from Parker but he runs out of room again as Bergman clinches. Another one down for Parker.
Round four - This one has an air of inevitability about it now, Parker completely dictating proceedings as Bergman looks to have entered preservation mode. Parker bounces the American's head back with a counter left hook and the crowd laps it up. Bergman against the ropes taking all punches from all angles, the 'Parker!' chant breaking out through the Faletea Sports Complex. Parker sitting down on his shots now, Bergman showing some serious heart as he soldiers on. One more round in the books for Parker.
Round three - Parker puts another liver shot right on the mark, Bergman grimaces and looks for safety. Parker continues to stalk, Bergman struggling to stay out of the way of Parker's varied attack, the Kiwi going high and then low. Bergman is looking shaky as Parker breaks him down, crushing some more lethal body shots as the round comes to a close. That could almost be another 10-8 round.
Round two - Parker leading with his lightning jab, goes to the head with the left and wings one to the body as Bergman backs into the corner. Parker stalking the American, who covers up...and eats a huge right hand, down to the canvas he goes! bergman survives the eight count, Parker can smell blood now and moves in with ruthless intent. Rips on to the liver as the bell sounds, 10-8 round to Parker.
Round one - Here we go! Parker pumps his jab in a attempt to find that range, Bergman standing wide in the southpaw stance. Parker lands a heavy left but eats one from Bergman at the same time, the American beckoning him forward...careful what you wish for. Parker stings him a left, but this is a much more calculated approach from the Kiwi. Another heavy left and Bergman tries to shake it off, he cops another to the body for his troubles. Parker warming nicely into his work now as the bell sounds to end the round, but Bergman has certainly come to fight. One up for the champ.
11:08pm - Bergman has opted to don a blue 'Samoa' cap in a somewhat futile attempt to win favour with this partisan crowd. Top marks for effort.
11:05pm - Bergman has completed his entrance and now it's Parker making his way to the square circle, flanked as always by his Chieftain uncles. The crowd explodes as Lieutenant Hennessy almost passes out while belting out Parker's full Samoan name.
10:59pm - A rousing rendition of 'The Star Spangled Banner' comes to an end, followed by one of the shoddier versions of 'God defend New Zealand' you'll ever hear from Joseph Parker's uncle, then a seamless transition into the Samoan anthem. What a time to be alive.
10:52pm - It's Joseph Parker o'clock! Make that final fridge run and get yourself settled.
The Brown Buttabean vs Batman - Brown Buttabean wins via unanimous decision
Round four - Batman comes out with a stinging right hand, he probably needs to win this round to have any chance of winning this fight. A lot of leaning, Batman signals for Robin but not even he could save him now. KA-POW goes the looping left from Batman as the bell sounds to end the brawl. The Lieutenant confirms, Brown Buttabean takes the unanimous decision.
Round three - This one starts in the same fashion as the second, both men standing in front of each other and winging shots. The wind has left both men's sails, a lot of heavy breathing not a whole lot of boxing. Buttabean lands a couple on the button as the round closes.
Round two - Both fighters come out with more aggression, exchanging sloppy punches without too much power behind them. Batman charges forward after stinging Buttabean with a straight right hand, the crowd loves it.
Round one - Corporate fight rules in place, four two minute rounds ahead of us. Predictably enough, some wild swinging from the outset but nothing yet to land convincingly as we work through a number of clinches. A pretty lacklustre first round from both fighters, Batman with a slightly better work rate.
10:28pm - It's a lot more fun just referring to these two via nickname, I think you'll agree. Buttabean making his way to the ring, then we're on.
10:18pm - Our next two fighters. Ummm, yeah.
10:13pm - Co-main event is up next, then we're into the big one.
Jordan Tai vs Toni Iapesa - Tai wins by eighth round KO
10:06pm - Final round kicks off....Tai crushes Iapesa with another brutal uppercut and down he goes again. No way is he getting up from this one, the blood is gushing from his nose which splayed across his face. Impressive KO win for the Aucklander.
10:01pm - Into the sixth round we go and Tai is yet to drop a round, on my scorecard at least. Uppercut lands on the inside and the referee steps in to administer a standing eight count on Iapesa. Again, he survives.
9:51pm - Tai clearly ahead as we come to the end of the third round, but Iapesa's putting forth a spirited challenge after surviving the early knockdown.
9:43pm - Tai clips Iapesa and sends him to the canvas but he manages to survive the eight count. Early adversity for the underdog here.
9:38pm - Important fight here for Auckland's Jordan Tai. Eight rounds of three minutes are underway...
9:35pm - Just two more fights until we're at the main event people, hang in there.
Warren Fuiava vs Tone Fereti - Fereti wins via split decision
9:30pm - Both fighters with a furious flurry as the contest comes to an end. The judge's decision is in....and Fereti's scored himself a huge upset! Can't say I agree, but here we are.
9:22pm - The momentum starting to swing the way of Fuiava as the veteran starts to time his jab, looks to have found his range. One round remains.
9:12pm - The underdog Fereti acquitting himself very well through the first three rounds, and the crowd is really enjoying it. The humour this Samoan crowd finds in such brutality is something to behold, roars of sporadic laughter.
9:05pm - Our fourth fight of the undercard about to get started with the highly touted Fuiava, sporting a record of 17-0, against the much lesser experienced local boy Fereti.
9:04pm - The man himself going through the final stages of his preparation...
Alapati A'asa vs Faranisisi Mamoe - A'asa wins via split decision
8:58pm - A'asa secures the victory, but split decision? Highly dubious.
8:54pm - Mamoe showing plenty of heart but he's visibly hurt and well behind on the scorecard as we enter the sixth and final round.
8:45pm - Big third round for A'asa, buckling Mamoe at the knees to claim a knockdown only for the referee to wave it off as a slip. Either way, he's up significantly in this fight.
8:41pm - A'asa's experience is shining through, the American Samoa heavyweight champ starting to land at will against his much smaller opponent. Round three underway.
8:33pm - The card keeps on rolling and we're right into our next bout, six rounds of cruiserweight action.
Bubba Tuigamala vs Gogosina Ulutoa - Tuigamala wins via unanimous decision
8:24pm - Looks like Inga Jr has this one secured, and the judges agree. Unanimous decision win and Tuigamala moves to 7-0.
8:20pm - Both fighters almost out on their feet, much to the delight of the crowd which is audibly laughing, and we still have one round remaining. Anyone's fight.
8:16pm - Clearly the second round goes Tuigamala's way, lancing Ulutoa with some powerful body shots.
8:11pm - Tight first round, but Tuigamala seemed to land the more effective strikes.
8:07pm - Inga himself in Bubba's corner tonight, looking far more nervous than his son.
8:05pm - Fight number two straight on deck, and we have none other than one of Inga the Winger's gigantic sons, Bubba, squaring off with Gogosina Ulutoa.
8:01pm - Plenty of support flooding in for Parker this evening...
Petelo Matagi vs Hugo Fata - Draw
7:58pm - First fight done and dusted and it's a close call as to which way this one will go, both fighters leaving it in the middle. And there it is, we have ourselves a draw! The perils of a four round fight, I guess...
7:49pm - It's likely one round a piece for Matagi and Fata as we enter the third and penultimate round. Sources predict a fight time of approximately 10:30pm for our highly anticipated main event.
7:43pm - We have a hefty undercard on our hands tonight, for which the headliner will be crowd favourite Dave 'Brown Buttabean' Letele. Our own Ross Karl caught up with him earlier today to discuss the challenge he faces against the curiously named Batman. Click here to watch.
7:39pm - To open proceedings tonight we have a couple of locals, Petero Matagi taking on Hugo Fata.
7:36pm - Lieutenant Dan Hennessey has taken the center of the ring and we are just about underway at the Faleata Sports Complex in Samoa.
Commentary will start from around 7:30pm. In the meantime check out the video to see exactly what Parker has been working on in his approach to tonight's main event.
Fight Card:
Petelo Matagi vs Hugo Fata - Draw
Bubba Tuigamala vs Gogosina Ulutoa - Tuigamala wins via unanimous decision
Alapati A'asa vs Faranisisi Mamoe - A'asa wins via split decision
Warren Fuiava vs Tone Fereti - Fereti wins via split decision
Jordan Tai vs Toni Iapesa - Tai wins by eighth round KO
Brown Buttabean vs Batman - Brown Buttabean wins via unanimous decision
Joseph Parker vs Jason 'Ironman' Bergma - Parker wins via eighth round TKO
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Pre-fight banter:
Parker confident of tactics
By Ross Karl
Joseph Parker is confident in the changes he's made to his game plan for his first professional bout against a southpaw.
The Kiwi heavyweight takes on American left-hander Jason Bergman in Samoa tomorrow.
Parker's tipped the scales 1kg heavier than his last fight, but what's more important is how he throws that weight around.
It was no normal weigh-in – it was a celebration, winding through Apia's streets.
"I didn't know what to expect but this is massive," Parker says. "This is a humbling feeling, being on this car and everyone coming out to support us."
It ended up outside the government building, where there was a weight of expectation on Parker before fighting Bergman.
While so much of the talk this week has been about giving back to Samoa, for Parker's career it's about practicing what he's learnt about fighting southpaws.
It's incredibly important because Charles Martin, a left-hander from the US, now has a title.
Punches have to be thrown and defended from different angles, so there are major changes to the game plan.
"It's a little different [fighting a southpaw]," Parker says. "It's about timing and picking the shots that do count. You've got to move onto his left, you don't want to walk into his left hand if you go to the right, so there's a few different things."
That includes a new liver punch.
Bergman says as an experienced southpaw he's more worried about straight punches. He plans to smother then unleash.
"I've knocked out guys with an overhand left [and] with the right hook," Bergman says. "I've got guys with both hands."
"I'm going to feel him out but also when I see an opportunity I'm going to take it," says Parker.
If that happens, expect the party to return to Samoa's streets tomorrow night.
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