Why Parker agreed to face the heavyweight boogeyman twice
Joseph Parker has copped plenty of flak over the years, some of it valid, a good chunk unfair. But one thing even the most ardent of keyboard warriors could never accuse him of is ducking a challenge.
Consider the evidence. In 12 years as a professional, Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) has fought three former world champions in Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr, along with a string of top contenders (Dillian Whyte, Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora).
And his next assignment, a high-stakes showdown with the widely avoided Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this Saturday (NZT) continues that admirable trend.
Not many heavyweights are queuing up to face Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs), the division’s latest boogeyman – a 1.98m Chinese giant who fights out of a southpaw stance and carries thunderous power in both fists.
Particularly after the 2008 Beijing Olympic silver medallist demanded a one-way rematch clause whereby only he would be guaranteed a sequel in the event of defeat.
Even with that unfavourable proviso attached, Parker and his team signed on the dotted line, so confident are they that he will continue his recent resurgence which culminated in that masterful display against Wilder little over two months ago.
Speaking to Stuff from the Saudi capital, where he has been putting the finishing touches to his fight preparations, the 32-year-old Aucklander said he wanted to keep up the momentum with a second tilt at world honours on the horizon.
“We were in talks with other opponents, but when you finish a fight with Wilder, there are other opponents they can offer you but it’s taking a step back,” explained Parker. “At the end of the day, in the boxing business you want to be moving forward and challenging yourself.
“Our team – myself, [trainer] Andy [Lee], [nutritionist] George [Lockhart] and [manager] David Higgins – we never shy away from challenges. And the most challenging fight out there and the best option for us if we want to get closer to a world title, we have to go through Zhang.”
That is indeed the case if Parker has designs on winning back the WBO strap he relinquished when he fought Joshua in a unification bout before 80,000 people in Cardiff back in 2018.
Zhang picked up that organisation’s interim belt last year when he pummelled Britain’s Joe Joyce not once but twice to become the mandatory challenger to WBO titleholder Oleksandr Usyk.
With Usyk slated to meet Parker’s good mate Tyson Fury in an historic undisputed clash in May, that leaves the rest of the heavyweight pack jockeying for position for an eventual shot at the winner.
Ranked second by the WBO and third with the WBC and WBA, Parker is in prime position to do that, provided he can overcome Zhang in back-to-back bouts (their rematch would likely take place in October, when the ‘Riyadh Season’ of entertainment events resumes).
It’s a tall order, and Parker will enter the ring for the second fight running as a betting underdog given Zhang’s recent form and amateur pedigree.
But this new, improved version of Parker relishes proving the doubters wrong, as he did so emphatically against Wilder.
Parker understandably oozes confidence after compiling a four-fight winning streak in 2023. Yet he is also mindful of the dangers posed by Zhang and respects the 40-year-old’s abilities.
Accordingly, he has prepared diligently for this formidable test, bringing in plenty of southpaw sparring (he has only faced one lefty as a pro), and arriving in the Middle East early to acclimatise and give himself the best possible chance of victory.
He knows he cannot afford any lapses in concentration if he is to avoid Zhang’s powerful punches and thus the same fate as Joyce.
“I will have to be very focused and very alert because Zhang fights in bursts and throws good, sharp combinations,” said Parker, who shared the ring with the Chinese colossus in the amateurs back in 2011, losing 15-7 on points in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“It’s all about being smart, not being predictable and showing just different things that we’ve been working on in camp.”
Though not exactly fizzing at the prospect of fighting Zhang twice, Parker understood why his handlers wanted to protect his mandatory status and backed himself “to do the business”.
“He’s looked very good in his fights. He’s got that big power. A lot of people shy away from fighting Zhang, but I love getting in there amongst it,” said Parker, who vowed to be “fitter, stronger and faster” than against Wilder and use his superior speed and movement to his advantage.
This will be Parker’s third successive fight in Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich Kingdom that has become a major player in the global sporting sphere.
In recent times, the Saudi state has pumped eye-watering sums into staging high-profile boxing, golf and football events, which some critics claim is a ploy to distract from its human rights record.
Yet Parker’s experience of the country has been nothing but positive. He has found the Saudi people “very welcoming” and said the general set-up – from the hotels to the arenas – was “fantastic”.
Of course, money talks in the prizefighting business and Parker admits the bumper paydays on offer at this stage of his career (he earned a reported $10 million against Wilder) have been part of his calculus when weighing up his opportunities.
As a father of four young girls (with a fifth child on the way), he is determined to leave this most unforgiving of sports with enough dollars in the bank to set his family up for life. “I need to think of their futures and looking after them.”