Zhilei Zhang (26-1, 21 KOs) vs. Joseph Parker (34-3, 23 KOs)
When: Friday, March 8, 2024
Where: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV: PPV
Weight Class: Heavyweights: 12 Rounds
Betting Odds: Zhilei Zhang (-230), Joseph Parker (+175)—Odds by Bovada
Fight Analysis:
Zhilei Zhang will battle Joseph Parker for the interim WBO Heavyweight belt on March 8 in Saudi Arabia. Beyond that title is the hope that the winner of this fight can move on and take on the winner of the main event between Joshua and Ngannou. This is a very interesting fight between the red-hot Zhang, in the midst of a career renaissance at age 40, and the resurgent Parker, back in the thick of things after scoring an upset unanimous decision over Deontay Wilder in December. Who should we get behind in this fight?
Zhang is really an interesting study, the first-ever contending heavyweight from China. A silver medalist in the 2008 games, his career plodded along earnestly without any major spikes. A disputed decision loss to top prospect/contender Filip Hrgovic showed his class, but the Joe Joyce camp considered him easy pickings and after two KO defeats, were forced to think different, along with the rest of the boxing world. A hulking heavyweight who was 278 for his last win and 6’6,” he has quickness that belies his appearance and age, snaking in that jab and swift southpaw leftt with great effect.
Granted, Zhang’s scope of success is pretty narrow—some decent wins, but a rep mostly based on two wins over the highly-imperfect Joyce. Not to impugn the Englishman, a fellow Olympic silver medalist and an unbeaten top contender at the time. But Joyce is getting up there and his defensive deficiencies were exposed against the sharp-shooting Zhang. Against Parker, Zhang will be asked to quell a more well-rounded fighting product.
The win over Deontay Wilder was most unexpected for Parker, still only 32. After a WBO championship run from 2016-18, which ended at the hands of Anthony Joshua, he seemed to fall off the map. A loss to Dillian Whyte, also in ’18, really cooled his jets and he toiled for years. A few wins over Derek Chisora led to a fight with the aforementioned Joyce, who issued Parker his first-ever KO loss with an 11th-round stoppage. So, he was really considered damaged goods leading up to the Wilder fight, a name-guy Wilder could surely vanquish. And for him to win the way he did, not with some fluke punch, but to outpoint Wilder so clearly in a near-sweep over 12 rounds while avoiding that murderous power showed that those who shoveled dirt on Parker after the Joshua and Whyte losses, and definitely after the Joyce loss, had done so prematurely.
