Joseph Parker has a tough task to fill, taking on ‘Big Bang’ Zhilei Zhang, the WBO interim heavyweight champion, in the main support fight on March 8 at the Anthony Joshua – Francis Ngannou event in Riyadh, Arabia Saudi.
Parker will need to fight far above what he has shown in the past to avoid ending up as another knockout victim of the bigger, stronger and more aggressive Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs).
Let the Saudis add Zhang vs. Parker to the Joshua-Ngannou event makes it less celebrity-like and more like a real boxing card. Zhang and Parker have been plying their trade for years in the game and it should be an exciting fight.
Fans had given up on the 32-year-old Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) after his back-to-back losses to Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018 and the lost years after fighting the bush, but he redeemed himself in his last fight. , defeating Deontay Wilder. by decision last December.
Parker’s trainer, Andy Lee, will likely have him use in-and-out attacks, trying to avoid standing still against Zhang. Above all, Parker can’t afford to stand in front of Zhang without being destroyed, like in his 11th-round knockout loss to Joe Joyce in 2022.
The move probably won’t work for Parker, though, because Zhang will be there to meet him with heavy blows when he gets close trying to mix it up.
Parker is not fighting Deontay Wilder. Zhang is still at his best, fearless and aggressive. Wilder fought like he was deathly afraid to throw anything for fear of being countered, and that’s not how he fights Parker. Joyce showed how he is done by wearing down Parker with heavy blows and occasionally taking one of the return shots from him.
Aside from Parker’s upset win against Wilder, 38, he hasn’t done much with his career since back-to-back losses to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018.
Parker’s fights from 2018 to 2023:
Deontay WilderSimon KeanFaiga OpeluJack MasseyJoe Joyce: loss by TKO 11Derek Chisora: two fightsJunior FaShawndell WinterAlex LeapaiAlexander Flores
Parker has been busy with his career, but why did he waste five years fighting these types of heavyweights after his losses to AJ and Whyte? In hindsight, Parker should have made a couple of adjustments and then gotten back to fighting world-class opponents instead of spending five years of his career facing low-level opponents.
