Parker vs. Zhang rumored for March 8th on Joshua-Ngannou card in Saudi Arabia

Image: Parker vs. Zhang rumored for March 8th on Joshua-Ngannou card in Saudi Arabia
By Jay McIntyre - 01/15/2024 - Comments

Joseph Parker vs. Zhilei Zhang heavyweight contest is rumored to be added to the Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for March 8th.

Insider Declan Taylor reports that the Parker-Zhang could be added to the Joshua-Ngannou card, which gives it an excellent fight to attract interest from fans. This is a fight that will put the winner in a position to fight for a world title.

Zhang is coming off back-to-back knockout victories over Joe Joyce, and he’s looking unbeatable right now. Some fans think Joshua should have fought Zhang on the March 8th card instead of the novice Ngannou (0-1), but he chose to play it safe by fighting a guy coming off a loss.

The former WBO heavyweight champion Parker (34-4, 23 KOs) ‘ll have a chance to show the boxing world that his victory over the gunshy, inactive, and lethargic-looking 38-year-old Deontay Wilder wasn’t a fluke on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card on December 23rd.

WBO interim champion Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) is the opposite of Wilder in mentality and two-fisted power, and it’s fair to say he’ll be going straight forward all night, looking to knock Parker’s lights out and make him regret taking the fight with him.

Parker: The Comeback Kid

The former WBO heavyweight champion Parker recently revived his career with his upset win over Wilder, and now he’s looking to put himself in a position to return to world honors. Winning the interim WBO belt from the powerful Zhang would put the 31-year-old Parker on the doorstep of a world title, perhaps in 2025.

Parker’s best years as a heavyweight were from 2016 to 2018, and his career has languished since losing his WBO belt against Joshua.

Until the fight with Deontay, Parker had been facing confidence-builder-level opposition for the last five years and getting nowhere.

Perhaps it’s a good thing that the New Zealander Parker’s management didn’t start putting him in with top-tier opposition from 2018 to 2023 because he might have turned in the same performance as he did in his losses to Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte, and Joshua.

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