Heavyweight Zhilei Zhang reveals that negotiations have begun between him and former WBO champion Joseph Parker for a rematch.
It’s a dangerous fight for Zhang because Parker will likely box and move all night to avoid exchanges until the second half of the competition when the massive Chinese knockout artist is simply too exhausted to throw.
Zhang’s Previous Performance
Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) says he’s open to the fight any time before the top of the yr. He just wants the chance to avenge his twelve-round majority decision defeat he suffered against Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) last March.
That was a tricky fight for the two-time Olympian Zhang to lose because he’d dropped Parker twice early on, and he looked like he was on his strategy to a simple win. Nevertheless, Zhang gassed out, and Parker could play it protected, box, and move to win a twelve-round decision.
Parker will exploit Zhang’s poor gas tank within the rematch unless he fixes it, which is unlikely at 40. To win, Zhang might want to get to Parker early before he fades, and that’s not going to be easy because his trainer, Andy Lee, has him fighting cautiously.
Parker has modified his style from a slugger to a boxer-puncher, mostly a boxer. He’s not entertaining to observe, but his style is effective against his limited opposition in his last five fights. Even with Parker’s play-it-safe style, Zhang would have knocked him out if his stamina had been higher. An in-shape Zhang would have made easy work of Parker, who was timid through a lot of the fight.
The Need for Weight Management
Zhang must reduce weight for this fight because he was too heavy at 291 lbs for the Parker clash, and he couldn’t maintain his early momentum after the fifth. He must have known he was carrying an excessive amount of weight to battle a crafty defensive fighter like Parker after watching how he’d fought against Deontay Wilder in his previous fight last December.
