The Big Fight has been in build-up mode for ages now, no holds shall be barred in the process of selling as many tickets as humanly possible. This is still a business after all. Luckily as Parker-Ruiz comes closer to the opening bell we’re finally seeing the focus laid deservedly upon the two fighters in question, both of whom are looking to fulfil childhood dreams by being able to call themselves ‘Champion’.

Initially that wasn’t the case. From the moment the fight was announced there was the sideshow of M-O-N-E-Y, from Duco lobbying as many sponsors/benefactors/suckers as possible while even publically courting the idea of government funding. Oh but it’ll help our tourism industry! Nah mate, they just want as much cash as they can get which they won’t have to pay back.

No worries, in the end they’ve been able to shill a few TV deals (like HBO picking it up to play on tape delay) and whatever else and despite a few tickets having prices dropped, the threat of having to take it over to America for financial reasons turned out to be nothing but an empty one. Blackmail, one could argue. That’s boxing, friend, it’s a sport where dirty money thrives.

With the fight now imminent, the focus has turned to selling pay per view tickets, which are being charged at a shade under sixty bucks – which is actually not that bad. Considering it was like $40 for an absolutely meaningless Sonny Bill Williams fight, this was better than we had reason to expect. But people still gotta buy the fight, money’s still gotta be made. Hands up if you got a call from Sky asking if you wanted to buy it this week. Yeah, same.

Throughout Parker’s journey with DUCO, there’s always been a feeling that they were a little less than professional. Not like they were pissing him around, more like you could see the cracks where there weren’t any with the well-oiled folks at Top Rank or Al Haymon’s lot or even Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom lot. There’s just something about Dean Lonergan where he doesn’t stack up against that bunch of promoters. Maybe it’s the accent. Maybe it’s bringing Parker up fighting pensioners at the high end of a bill that also features reality telly stars and non-boxing sportsmen. Yeah, somewhere in between those two.

Something must’ve worked though coz we’ve come out the other end with Parker getting a crack at a title fight. He’s a household name in New Zealand. Andy Ruiz Jr has flown all the way out here to take him on at Vector Arena. And just recently they’ve used that Ruiz connection to split a deal with Bob Arum and his Top Rank organisation where the Americans will help promote JP over there without taking away the Kiwi/Aussie television rights that Duco love so much. After pushing Joe Parker into the big time, it seems now he’s dragging them up with him.

One example of this is the documentary they’ve been floating around, which aired on Prime last week and is being played every few hours on one Sky Sports channel or another ever since. It’s called: ‘Parker v Ruiz: A Fighting Chance’. Not sure what the fighting chance is other than a snappy title, but it goes well as a cheeky view. These are the kinds of things that HBO and the likes do so well, those behind the scenes shows full of tinted shots from within the gym and intense voiceovers, and Sky have been sneakily getting in their reps.

PvR: AFC does all of that, though for the first ten minutes you’re intensely aware that you’re watching a show that exists purely to sell you a product (and not just the usual ones that pop up during ad breaks). It begins with darkened shots of cameras and mics, a press conference to show that this bad boy is serious. Suddenly it’s Martin Snedden and his monotonous drawl announcing the fight that we’re already watching to learn about. Talking heads abound, there’s ‘boxing analyst’ Mike Angrove (who to be fair is a top notch colour commentator), there’s Dean Lonergan, Monty Betham appears later on and ooh look it’s Colonel Bob Sheridan saying: “Oh this is a massive event for New Zealand”.

We know, bro. That’s why we’re watching. Nah but Duco doesn’t hold back in setting this thing up, they want to make sure everybody realises the gravity of it. They even got that weirdass Smitty guy that goes on Radio Sport sometimes, calling up from his poolside to offer surface readings of American sports. Hell, they even wrangled some face time with Bob Arum before the octogenarian got on the plane for Aotearoa.

Then things get real. There’s Joe, headphones on and sneakers tied tight, jogging down the street and across Grafton Bridge (by the looks of it). Cutting back between that and this is footage of Joe talking about his childhood origins in boxing and away we go.

Parker’s got a great story. He grew up the son of Samoan immigrants, his father named after Jack Dempsey, and he’s South Auckland through and through – from his childhood home in Mangere to the gym he learnt his trade at in Papatoetoe. His close family all speak to the cameras, his mother is a pretty fascinating lady. But the highlight is whenever Parker talks himself.

See, in the past they’ve done the usual thing and tried to play him up as a tough dude – remember those cringey Burger King ads? Parker’s a humble, shy fella and that’s always kept his personality pretty guarded in the past but in this doco you see him joking around, laughing telling stories. He’s definitely got his practice in over the past few years but something about this setting has also freed him up and this is arguably the first time he’s ever really opened up.

Duco aren’t trying to sell a myth of Parker anymore. They’re not trying to play the game the way that it’s done overseas, case and point being the dramas in the Chisora-Whyte presser the other day where Dereck Chisora threw a flippin’ table at his upcoming opponent. Parker’s done his bit with the trash talking in the past but he’s always looked about as natural as grizzly bear in a business suit. In the fight world these days, everybody’s talking about how hard they’re gonna knock the other bugger out… Parker’s not that type of lad and that’s what makes this documentary work. They go after the real Joseph, recounting tales from his past and making pretty obvious reference to the values his parents instilled in him, from hard work and perseverance to honesty, sacrifice and humility.

Thankfully they spend a bit of time with Andy Ruiz Jr too. There’s a lot of chat from his new trainer Abel Sanchez and some footage of Ruiz preparing a salad, picking out the best hot sauce to pour over it and sitting down to say grace with his family. They largely ignore Ruiz in the back half of the doco but they do establish him as a Mexican mirror image of Parker, only with the chip on his shoulder of also being a chubby dude who’s been underestimated because of that his whole career. Even Parker underestimated him back in 2013 when they sparred, which is a tale.

It’s almost surreal watching the press for this fight. At the latest press conference the fighters, rather than trading early blows, each introduced the other to their mother instead. There was this complete lack of pretence, it was so refreshing. Most refreshing of all is that both guys have been encouraged to be themselves instead of playing up for the fake dramas. Maybe it’s the legitimisation of the belt on the line – nobody needs to prove anything to anyone outside of the 12 rounds in the ring.

The stuff hanging out in the Barry household is a bit odd, although it’s a different side of JP which makes it worthwhile. Kevin Barry is a decent listen when he’s talking boxing, it was pleasing to see he at least acknowledged the Tua court dramas here. Plus his wife taught Joe to love beetroot and his son has a funny hybrid Vegas/Kiwi accent. Also Izu Ugonoh showed up in a few shots watching the fights on telly with Joseph and Taylor. Never gets to speak on camera though, last week he announced that he’s signed with Haymon Boxing so we won’t be seeing him on the card this weekend – he’s too good to be an undercard fighter. Kevin Barry will continue to train him but the dude’s left the Duco stable.

Gotta say it was really enjoyable watching the scenes towards the end where they got Parker and Barry (with a bit of exposition from Betham) talking about a few key fights of Joe’s in the past. Obviously it was bollocks talking about what a test the Botha fight was but hearing how Parker won that one with the plan of changing up his height, going low and then going high in his combos, setting him up and then going low and immediately over the top with a high right that went straight through the gate. Or getting Parker’s recollections of the massive gash he took against Bowie Tupou. Plus Barry repeats what he’s said all along about how the Takam fight really wasn’t Parker’s best stuff, which he’s not the only person to notice either.

This one will need to be. This one he gets a guy who can take a punch as well as anyone he’s taken on other than Takam only Ruiz can throw a flurry too. It’s a genuine scrap worth a genuine title and it’s such a relief to see the team at Sky TV & Duco finally treating Parker like a genuine heavyweight challenger. Because these days he is most certainly that.

Hey look somebody uploaded the whole thing to YouTube: