Terry Lane, the co-manager of former WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang, says he wants an immediate rematch with Joseph Parker after losing to him by a twelve-round majority decision last Friday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Zhang knocked Parker down twice in the fight, and many boxing fans believe he had done enough to be given the victory. The judges, however, gave it to Parker by the scores 113-113, 114-112, and 115-111.

Parker’s ‘Ostrich’ Style Under Fire

Lane says Zhang had problems with Parker’s crouching and clinching during the fight, a tactic he’d used successfully in his previous contest against Deontay Wilder. By bending low, Parker made it difficult for Zhang to land his powerful straight left, and the clinching further exacerbated his problems.

Parker sometimes resembled an Ostrich bird, foraging for food in the ground, making it difficult for Zhang to land without chopping down on the back of his head. The late Rocky Marciano had used that same low, ducking style in his fights, which worked well for him.

Fighters specializing in throwing chopping shots would have a field day against a fighter who used a crouching style like the one Parker employed against Zhang and Wilder. Zhang isn’t one of them.

Parker’s crouching disrupted Zhang’s offense, making it nearly impossible for him to connect with his powerful left hand. In hindsight, Zhang should have watched Parker’s fight with Wilder to know that he would use the awkward crouching style against him and look to steal rounds by just doing a little bit more.

In both fights, Parker was mostly on the defensive, trying not to get hit, but occasionally, he would go on the attack with brief spurts before returning to his crouching ostrich-like shell.

Rematch Clause: A Path to Redemption

Luckily for the two-time Olympian Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs), he can force a second fight with Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) due to the rematch clause in the contract for their fight last Friday.

“Parker’s crouching and holding really threw Zhilei off,” said Terry Lane to Sky Sports about his fighter, Zhilei Zhang, struggling with the defensive tactics of Joseph Parker last Friday night.

“According to Zhilei, he was never really gassed but really just felt frozen in the last third of the fight. After round eight, he thought he was up on the cards more than he was. Not doing much of anything in the last four rounds will not win you fights.

“Zhilei wants the rematch. He can make the adjustments, win more rounds, and go on to other things,” said Lane.