Zhilei Zhang vs. Joseph Parker (WBO interim heavyweight title) March 8

[Finestream]

No one is talking about this fight but it's a title fight with the underrated boxers in the heavyweight division. How do you see this fight, who has the upper hand here between the two?



Zhang came from 2 fights KO win against Joe Joyce, while Joseph Parker upset Deontay Wilder last month on a fight in Riyadh.
This fight is part of the 3 fights in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but it's a title fight so it's worth discussing.

March 8: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, 12 rounds, heavyweights

Title fight: Zhilei Zhang vs. Joseph Parker, 12 rounds, for Zhang's WBO interim heavyweight title

Title fight: Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball, 12 rounds, for Vargas' WBC featherweight title

https://www.espn.ph/boxing/story/_/id/12508267/boxing-schedule
https://www.boxinghana.com/zhilei-zhang-to-face-joseph-parker-on-joshua-ngannou-card-in-march/

[TravelMug]

I think it was discussed in the [Boxing] Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou - March 9 as it is a undercard. However, it's good to have a separated thread for it. And in any case, the prediction will be Zhang by KO, or Parker winning by decision in the judges scorecard. If Parker can used his speed and head and foot movement, the same that he displayed against Wilder and avoided that power punch, then he has a good chance to win and Zhang might have that gas tank in his to last full 12 rounds. But if Zhang landed his powerful left on Parker early, it might end up early. And as per odds,

Zhang - 1.44
Parker - 2.65

[aioc]

We've been discussing this fight in the Joshua - Ngannou fight and this is one of our discussions, although it is a fight worth discussing because it is a title fight is because it is an undercard of the Joshua - Ngannou yes it is worth creating a thread for this fight as both fighters are coming from great wins and it's a title fight
honestly, I have equal interest in this fight because, like the main header, it also has the making of an explosive fight, because both fighters come to fight when they enter the ring.

Parker was impressive but Wilder seemed off to me. I think Zhang will either win by KO or Parker on points, but I think Zhang should get a KO. Joe Joyce got a KO against Parker and Zhang absolutely battered Joyce twice and was the first to do so.

Good analysis, between the two Zhang, is a big hitter, and that was an ugly knockout of Zhang over Joyce, did we all hear how the crowd reacted every time Zhang snapped Joyce's head?

If Zhang can find his range and he can deliver that straight left Parker is in trouble, and we should all remember Joyce beat Parker by a TKO and Zhang beat Joyce twice by stoppage, if parker fights the way he fought Wilder he has a good chance to win on points and if Zhang delivers a performance as he did against Joyce he will win by knockout, so its all about implementation and who wants the to win the most.

[Finestream]

We've been discussing this fight in the Joshua - Ngannou fight and this is one of our discussions, although it is a fight worth discussing because it is a title fight

I think it was discussed in the [Boxing] Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou - March 9 as it is a undercard

Thanks for agreeing. I saw the thread but I feel that this fight has to be broken down since it's a title fight. The fight between Joshua vs Ngannou is not a championship fight but they are popular that's why they get more attention from the fans, but these two deserve some highlights here. I'm adding a poll so you guys can also vote. Thanks for sharing the betting odds, that's important.

[mirakal]

The battle of the underrated champion. Parker came from a big win but I'm gonna bet on Zhang as I believe he had proven himself to be a strong opponent by beating Joyce twice which he was a heavy underdog on the first meeting. Parker's win against Wilder is also huge but I think Wilder is not anymore on his prime or he was mentally affected with his lose to Fury which he cannot be as confident as he was when he's still undefeated.

It's a chess match, but both have power so I think it will not end in 12 rounds. Maybe maximum rounds based on my prediction is 10 rounds, and it's favor of Zhang as I've mentioned.

Actually Parker has more fights as per boxrec, and he is younger, looking at that he got the edge but bookies listed him as underdog.

https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/613846
https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/692149

[Kemarit]

The battle of the underrated champion. Parker came from a big win but I'm gonna bet on Zhang as I believe he had proven himself to be a strong opponent by beating Joyce twice which he was a heavy underdog on the first meeting. Parker's win against Wilder is also huge but I think Wilder is not anymore on his prime or he was mentally affected with his lose to Fury which he cannot be as confident as he was when he's still undefeated.

It's a chess match, but both have power so I think it will not end in 12 rounds. Maybe maximum rounds based on my prediction is 10 rounds, and it's favor of Zhang as I've mentioned.

Actually Parker has more fights as per boxrec, and he is younger, looking at that he got the edge but bookies listed him as underdog.

https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/613846
https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/692149

We all know why Zhang is the favorite here (has knockout power), but Parker is no stranger to being a underdog as well. He have shown that with careful preparation and mental toughness he can overcome one of heavy handed boxer we have in the Heavyweight division as he upset Wilder. So this is going to be another great test for Parker on how he can flip the switch again. Not taking anything though from him, but I think Wilder is shot already and that Fury has taken out the best out of him.

So this fight might be difficult to him, as we all have agree that Zhang power can KO anyone, including Parker. The odds are fair, but I guess for those who are fans or Parker, obviously they love that kind of odds for him as a underdog.

Voted already.

[Agbe]

This is not the first time I have seen this kind of boxing thread and I thought that there is a mega boxing thread whereby everyone who's interested to discuss it goes there to view their points but it looks like that thread is condemn or was I the one that did not see the thread and topic very well? If there is a mega boxing thread does exist then all these threads should be catapult to that thread and stop creating new topic instead nof making comments therem

[Saisher]

Zhang possesses the power to knock out anybody so he is my favorite to win the fight by knock but if the fight goes the distance Parker will have the edge because Parker has the stamina to stay in the fight until the end without diminishing his performance.
I'd like to mention here that Joyce beat Parker and Joyce was beaten twice by Zhang by TKO so in the early rounds Zhang had the edge but later on in the late rounds Parker dominated, so Zhang by knockout in the early rounds and Parker by decision in the fight lasted.

[Baofeng]

Zhang possesses the power to knock out anybody so he is my favorite to win the fight by knock but if the fight goes the distance Parker will have the edge because Parker has the stamina to stay in the fight until the end without diminishing his performance.
I'd like to mention here that Joyce beat Parker and Joyce was beaten twice by Zhang by TKO so in the early rounds Zhang had the edge but later on in the late rounds Parker dominated, so Zhang by knockout in the early rounds and Parker by decision in the fight lasted.

Yes, but triangle theory though does not work in boxing. As boxer prepared differently and we all know that most of the time, they either improved from their last fight or totally become shot and no longer in their prime and can't pull the trigger.

The vote goes to Zhang, as you have said, he has power to knock out anybody and lately he has shown that and so he is a fan favorite. And it's good that the Chinese man is getting recognized from his two big win and now moving to a interim title fight. And perhaps winner could be waiting for their biggest paycheck as they could face either of the big 4 in HW division.

[Fundamentals Of]

Parker had a perfect preparation match for this fight when he faced and defeated Wilder. Wilder is like Zhang in terms of their gifts of powerful punches. Probably the only difference is that Wilder got stronger punches than Zhang. So if Parker was able to survive and win against Wilder, he could have what he exactly needs in order to survive and win against Zhang.

But of course this is just one among many factors. Although Zhang is older than Wilder, I think he's got a higher boxing IQ than him. So Parker still has some puzzles to solve of course.

[coin-investor]

No one is talking about this fight but it's a title fight with the underrated boxers in the heavyweight division. How do you see this fight, who has the upper hand here between the two?

There's a discussion between these two fighters on the other thread but they are only an undercard event, it's good that we have a dedicated topic between these two fighters because these two fighters is worth discussing their strength and weaknesses because there's a possibility that the fight between the two will be much better than the main card between Ngannou and Joshua.

My pick here is Joseph Parker, beating Wilder was not that easy but he did it unanimously he took his punches counter punches and was the more aggressive fighter if he fought the way against Zhang he'd dominate the fight, but he needs to watch Zhang lightning jabs and left hook, those were the punches that paralyzed Joyce defenses.
I'd like to see the face-off between these two fighters I don't think there will be thrash talks as both fighters are gentlemen inside and outside of the ring.

[babygun]

I follow boxing only a little bit, mainly a fan of Fury, but this fight seems interesting. Until recently I didn’t really know Zhang but he has a pretty good record but is already 40 years old. Parker upset Wilder and his odd to win seems pretty good, so there might be some value in it. Most people on here think Zhang will win so will do some research before betting on it.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Zhilei Zhang reminds me of George Foreman after his comeback in his later years. He is quite old for a champion and doesn't have the best reflexes but he can still hit like a mule. Joseph Parker demonstrated against Wilder that he is able to handle a one-dimensional fighter with heavy hands so I see the outcome being favorable for him. The speed, age and skill advantage are all in Parker's favor. He just needs to follow a similar strategy to the one he used against Wilder.

[Lida93]

This fight the fighters has their varied areas of strength to which if any one of them can make  much better use of it to his advantage he's undoubtedly going be the winner in the ring. For Zhilei Zhang is popularly known for his power bunch that is liken to a bag of cement thrown on you, but age is not on his side anymore than it is on Parker's and that can be an area of weakness that his opponent Joseph Parker can capitalize on as one with a young age he has the agility, the tactics and strength for endurance, we saw all of that when he faced Wilder as an underdog.

I think if Joseph can make good use of his reflexes to avoid receiving direct punches from Zhang who has a much experience than him in this fight then he Joseph should be able to win this fight. It won't be an easy fight but am putting my weight behind Parker on this one.

[Finestream]

I follow boxing only a little bit, mainly a fan of Fury, but this fight seems interesting. Until recently I didn’t really know Zhang but he has a pretty good record but is already 40 years old. Parker upset Wilder and his odd to win seems pretty good, so there might be some value in it. Most people on here think Zhang will win so will do some research before betting on it.

as posted, here's the betting odds of this fight.

Zhang - 1.44
Parker - 2.65

if we are talking of value, I guess we should go with the underdog as he is younger and has more experience based on the number of fights. Although with the age of 40, you can also find that Zhang is an experience boxer, but I think it's is a major factor in choosing who will win especially if both are good boxers.

We could see ths fight like Manny vs Ugas, although per book, Manny was heavily favored, but the younger boxer prevailed on their fight. So maybe let's think about that too. Nevertheless, this fight is sure a firepower one.

[coin-investor]

Have you all seen Zhang's press conference he believes that his fight against Parker is and should be the real main event because the Joshua - Ngannou match is just an exhibition while his match against Joseph Parker is a title match and many fans agreed that their match should not be an undercard or even a co main event

According to Zhang

“From my perspective, that’s a ten round exhibition,” Zhang said to Fight Hype on the subject of AJ against Ngannou. “People are going to tune in to watch that fight, a lot of people, because it’s boxing versus MMA, they want to see Joshua versus Ngannou two world famous athletes going at each other. But to me, there’s no question Joshua will get the victory. If you really look at it from a boxing perspective, you know who the main event will be.”

https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/zhilei-zhang-says-him-against-joseph-parker-is-the-real-march-8-main-event/273287

Although he has a case but Joshua - Ngannou has a lot of intrigue, curiosity, and interest the boxing wants to see how Ngannou will pair against Joshua or if Joshua will perform better than Fury who suffered from a knockdown when he fought Ngannou.

I believe both fights deserve a spotlight and the winner of their respective fights will move on for another title shot, it would be unusual if Ngannou ended up a champion before the end of the year, Ngannou a World Champion in less than 5 fights could be the biggest shake-up in boxing history.

[Maslate]

Have you all seen Zhang's press conference he believes that his fight against Parker is and should be the real main event because the Joshua - Ngannou match is just an exhibition while his match against Joseph Parker is a title match and many fans agreed that their match should not be an undercard or even a co main event

I definitely understand his point though, however, boxing is business and they can't promote a boxers that aren't popular. Maybe Zhang has to accept the reality that although he is on a title fight, but his popularity is not as good as the main even stars. He should look at the brighter side, because Joshua - Ngannou which what is promoted will certainly capture the fans to watch and that their fight will be able to generate a good amount of money.

It's a marketing strategy, if he understands and believe that boxing is boxer, he wouldn't complain.

[Kelvinid]

Have you all seen Zhang's press conference he believes that his fight against Parker is and should be the real main event because the Joshua - Ngannou match is just an exhibition while his match against Joseph Parker is a title match and many fans agreed that their match should not be an undercard or even a co main event

I definitely understand his point though, however, boxing is business and they can't promote a boxers that aren't popular. Maybe Zhang has to accept the reality that although he is on a title fight, but his popularity is not as good as the main even stars. He should look at the brighter side, because Joshua - Ngannou which what is promoted will certainly capture the fans to watch and that their fight will be able to generate a good amount of money.

Zhang's is looking for some spotlight here, lol..He is on the retiring age, at 40 years old, I think most boxers have already retired at that age. We are not sure if this is his last fight, but if he lose, I think it will be. however, since he is the heavy favorite, there's a likelihood that he will win and will beat the younger boxer who beat Wilder. 

It's a marketing strategy, if he understands and believe that boxing is boxer, he wouldn't complain.

This should be clear to him. Without good marketing, even if the fight is a title fight, they will not be able to make money. And, before this fight was finalized, they all agree with the terms, so why complain?

[bittraffic]

Have you all seen Zhang's press conference he believes that his fight against Parker is and should be the real main event because the Joshua - Ngannou match is just an exhibition while his match against Joseph Parker is a title match and many fans agreed that their match should not be an undercard or even a co main event

According to Zhang

“From my perspective, that’s a ten round exhibition,” Zhang said to Fight Hype on the subject of AJ against Ngannou. “People are going to tune in to watch that fight, a lot of people, because it’s boxing versus MMA, they want to see Joshua versus Ngannou two world famous athletes going at each other. But to me, there’s no question Joshua will get the victory. If you really look at it from a boxing perspective, you know who the main event will be.”

https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/zhilei-zhang-says-him-against-joseph-parker-is-the-real-march-8-main-event/273287

Although he has a case but Joshua - Ngannou has a lot of intrigue, curiosity, and interest the boxing wants to see how Ngannou will pair against Joshua or if Joshua will perform better than Fury who suffered from a knockdown when he fought Ngannou.

I believe both fights deserve a spotlight and the winner of their respective fights will move on for another title shot, it would be unusual if Ngannou ended up a champion before the end of the year, Ngannou a World Champion in less than 5 fights could be the biggest shake-up in boxing history.

With such a statement, I would believe he is trying to belittle Ngannou for he wants to be the next to fight Ngannou. Zhang is a real deal, he could even defeat Fury in he legitimate match and China will soon produce more fighters like him to dominate the boxing industry. Zhang vs Ngannou could be the next fight already.

[coin-investor]

Have you all seen Zhang's press conference he believes that his fight against Parker is and should be the real main event because the Joshua - Ngannou match is just an exhibition while his match against Joseph Parker is a title match and many fans agreed that their match should not be an undercard or even a co main event

According to Zhang

“From my perspective, that’s a ten round exhibition,” Zhang said to Fight Hype on the subject of AJ against Ngannou. “People are going to tune in to watch that fight, a lot of people, because it’s boxing versus MMA, they want to see Joshua versus Ngannou two world famous athletes going at each other. But to me, there’s no question Joshua will get the victory. If you really look at it from a boxing perspective, you know who the main event will be.”

https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/zhilei-zhang-says-him-against-joseph-parker-is-the-real-march-8-main-event/273287

Although he has a case but Joshua - Ngannou has a lot of intrigue, curiosity, and interest the boxing wants to see how Ngannou will pair against Joshua or if Joshua will perform better than Fury who suffered from a knockdown when he fought Ngannou.

I believe both fights deserve a spotlight and the winner of their respective fights will move on for another title shot, it would be unusual if Ngannou ended up a champion before the end of the year, Ngannou a World Champion in less than 5 fights could be the biggest shake-up in boxing history.

With such a statement, I would believe he is trying to belittle Ngannou for he wants to be the next to fight Ngannou. Zhang is a real deal, he could even defeat Fury in he legitimate match and China will soon produce more fighters like him to dominate the boxing industry. Zhang vs Ngannou could be the next fight already.

But the winner of the Joshua - Ngannou fight will be the one to fight the winner of the Fury - USYK fight, so the only way that these two are going to fight each other is if both fighters lose in their respective fight,  Zhang vs Ngannou  is a pretty good fight to make both fighters are big punchers, the heavyweight division has so many possibilities and the biggest event is the unification bout between Usyk and Fury because this is the first time that we will have a real undisputed and lineal champion the last undisputed and lineal champion was Lennox Lewis.

Whoever wins the undisputed and lineal championship will carve his name as the greatest boxer in this era, there are so many stakes in that fight but before that let's enjoy these two cards which I consider to be a co-main event, not one is a undercard here.