Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou’s headline fight on March 8th could be upstaged by the co-feature attraction between WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker at the Kingdome Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The way that Zhang destroyed former Parker conqueror Joe Joyce twice in 2023 makes it difficult to imagine the New Zealander lasting long against him unless he uses movement, which won’t help.

This fight could steal the show if we don’t see Zhang get robbed like the last time he fought against Filip Hrgovic in Saudi Arabia. It was really disturbing to watch how Zhang got the business.

With promoter Eddie Hearn discrediting Zhang’s recent wins over Joe Joyce and controversial loss to Hrgovic and saying Parker should be the favorite, you hope there’s a conclusive result in this fight without the stain of controversy.

Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) has earned himself a semi-big fight against former WBO champion Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) on the ‘Knockout Chaos’ card on March 8th.

Parker has some believing he’s improved since his 11th knockout loss to Joe Joyce in 2022, but we’ll find out when he gets in there with Zhang, who can punch and will be tracking him down all night.

If Parker’s fight against Deontay Wilder last December signals that he’s better than he ever was, he may have a chance against Zhang. That’s hard to believe because Wilder changed his game entirely for the Parker fight, choosing to box instead of slug. It wasn’t a case of Parker improving.

That was the 38-year-old Deontay doing something insanely foolish by changing his style after 15 years in the pro ranks and failing miserably.

Parker is the A-side in this fight, even though Zhang is the better talent and has the best chance of beating the top dogs, Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Oleksandr Usyk.

This means that if Parker can box & move for twelve rounds, he has a chance of winning a decision, albeit a controversial one like his fight with Jack Massey. Parker is the better-known guy coming off a decision win over Wilder.

Parker’s Biggest Names:

Anthony Joshua: Loss
Deontay Wilder
Joe Joyce: Loss
Andy Ruiz: *controversial win
Dillian Whyte: Loss
Derek Chisora
Jack Massey: *controversial win

Parker has been busy during the last eight years but has arguably lost all his biggest fights. The only name fighter that Parker has beaten during this time without controversy is Wilder.