Kiwi heavyweight Junior Fa fears the window on his rivalry with Joseph Parker may be closing, despite the war of words that has broken out over a possible showdown between the old foes.
Former WBO world champion Parker (24-2) will take on American-Mexican Alexander 'The Great' Flores in Christchurch on December 15, as he tries to return to title relevance after consecutive losses.
Undefeated Fa (15-0), currently sitting 10th on WBO world rankings, will face Argentinian Rogelio Omar Rossi on the main undercard fight.
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But Parker's management has called Fa out, challenging him to take this opportunity to prove he's worthy of a crack at their man.
"Junior is hugely talented, but he has blown hot and cold as a professional fighter," said Duco Events CEO David Higgins.
"He's earned his chance to step up onto the big stage… let's see what he does with it."
Fa's manager, Mark Keddell, has returned serve, claiming his fighter has the tools to defeat Parker, just as he had done twice as an amateur.
"I would definitely, definitely love to fight Parker," Fa confirms from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he's in camp with WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
"We've got some history. I believe I've got what it takes to beat him, but I know he feels otherwise.
"It would make for a great fight, but I feel like, if we don't fight within the next year, it might not happen."
Still several weeks away from his next bout, Fa admits he doesn't know much about his opponent - only what a quick Google search has revealed.
"I saw he was quite tall [6ft 6in/2m] and he's coming up from cruiserweight, which has some advantages and some disadvantages.
"And he's a southpaw - those are the three main things I took from what I saw.
"I'll do some further investigation, but not too much. I'll leave that to the coaches and then we'll come together to come up with a game plan."
Fa admits he won't spend too much time scouting his opponent's six defeats, preferring to concentrate on his 20 wins.
Rossi challenged for the WBC cruiserweight title in 2011, but suffered a sixth-round knockout to German Marko Huck, after taking a late blow after the bell in the fifth.
"I always try to find their best fights," says Fa. "I don't like to see the person getting knocked out.
"I always try to prepare myself for their best version."
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