Kiwi Samoan

"He was a fighter and fought for 16 days in ICU but our heavenly father needed a stand-off for his Rugby League Team, and now he has the best," Alf wrote on Facebook.

He had previously reported that his brother had been admitted to hospital on January 13 with a stomach infection, before deteriorating with a longstanding kidney problem.

Filipaina, a centre/five-eighth, played 28 tests for New Zealand between 1977 and 1986.

The former WBO heavyweight champion has targeted the top-ranked WBO heavyweight according to his manager David Higgins.

Parker is coming off an impressive win over Derek Chisora late last year.

"He fought Chisora and dominated him so his brand equity in the world and United Kingdom is at an all-time high," Higgins told Sky Sports.

"The question is 'who next?' Joseph has signalled that he'd like to fight as soon as humanly possible. A possible opponent is Joe Joyce.