Joseph Parker has a tall order to fill, going up against ‘Big Bang’ Zhilei Zhang, the WBO interim heavyweight champion, in the chief support bout on March 8 at the Anthony Joshua – Francis Ngannou event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Parker will need to fight well above what he’s shown in the past to avoid winding up as another knockout victim for the bigger, stronger, and more aggressive Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs).

The Saudis adding Zhang vs. Parker to the Joshua-Ngannou event makes it less celebrity-like and more of a true boxing card. Zhang & Parker have been plying their trade for years in the game, and it should be an exciting fight.

Fans had given up on 32-year-old Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) after his consecutive losses to Joshua & Dillian Whyte in 2018 and the wasted years afterward fighting scrubs, but he redeemed himself in his last fight, defeating Deontay Wilder by a decision last December.

Parker’s trainer, Andy Lee, will likely have him using in & out attacks, trying to keep from being stationary against Zhang. Above all, Parker can’t afford to stand in front of Zhang without getting destroyed, like in his 11th-round knockout loss to Joe Joyce in 2022.

Movement probably won’t work for Parker, though, because Zhang will be there to greet him with heavy shots when he does come forward trying to mix it.

This isn’t Deontay Wilder that Parker is fighting. Zhang is still in his prime, unafraid and aggressive. Wilder fought like he was deathly afraid to throw anything for fear of being countered, and that’s not how you fight Parker. Joyce showed how it’s done by wearing Parker down with heavy punches and occasionally taking one of his return fires.

Aside from Parker’s upset win against the faded 38-year-old Wilder, he hasn’t done much with his career since his consecutive losses to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018.

Parker’s fights from 2018 to 2023:

Deontay Wilder
Simon Kean
Faiga Opelu
Jack Massey
Joe Joyce: TKO 11 loss
Derek Chisora: two fights
Junior Fa
Shawndell Winter
Alex Leapai
Alexander Flores

Parker has been busy with his career, but why did he waste five years fighting these kinds of heavyweights after his losses to AJ and Whyte? In hindsight, Parker should have taken a couple of tune-ups and then returned to fighting world-class opposition instead of using up five years of his career facing low-level opposition.