According to ESPN, Zhang Zhilei and New Zealand boxing champion Joseph Parker will fight for the WBO interim heavyweight world title at the Kingdom of Riyadh Arena in Saudi Arabia on Friday, March 8 local time. Zhang retained the Transition World belt after his victory over Joe Joyce, while Parker returned to the contenders by defeating Deontay Wilder last month.
Originally, it was rumored that Zhang Zhilei was ready to fight the American bronze bomber Wild, but after some contact, the negotiations broke down. Everyone wants to see the showdown between the strongest man in China and the strongest man in the United States, such a game is very gimmicky, and there is absolutely no shortage of media hype. The key is that Wild's popularity and commercial value are still there, and Zhang Zhilei's appearance fee is guaranteed.
But now Zhang Zhilei has to face Parker, I personally think this is the worst choice, like Zhang Zhilei, Parker is also a cost-effective fighter, and his strength is greater than fame, defeating Parker does not make Zhang Zhilei among the top boxing champions, but if he loses, the WBO transitional world title will be gone, which is really worth the loss. In other words, this bout is a fight for Zhang's temporary belt, and Parker has nothing to lose.
Zhang Zhilei and Parker are of equal strength, both of them are world-class, but they are not the top two or three. Zhang Zhilei's heavy punches are above Parker's, but Parker is notoriously hob meat, and it is not so easy to disarm and surrender. If Zhang can find a knockout of Parker in the first six rounds, all will be fine, but if the bout is full, Zhang Zhilei has far less physical reserves than Parker and is likely to lose.
Because Zhang Zhilei knocked out Joyce twice in a row, Joyce once defeated Parker, and Zhang Zhilei also defeated Parker in the amateur boxing period, so from the perspective of morale and confrontation record, Zhang Zhilei should have the upper hand, and the odds of winning are 64 open, but this is still a game with a bad profit and loss ratio, and you still need to take the risk of 40%, but you will not get anything extra because of winning.
It is reported that the match between Joshua and Nagano, the boxing feast in Saudi Arabia in March, is the main event, while the match between Zhang Zhilei and Parker is the joint main event. Whether Zhang Zhilei challenges Joshua, who is very appealing in Europe and the United States, or faces former UFC World Champion Nagano, he will be more valuable than Parker.