Heavyweight Zhilei Zhang reveals that negotiations have begun between him and former WBO champion Joseph Parker for a rematch.
It’s a risky fight for Zhang because Parker will likely box and move all night to avoid exchanges until the second half of the contest when the big Chinese knockout artist is 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 end of the year. He just wants the opportunity to avenge his twelve-round majority decision defeat he suffered against Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) last March.
That was a tough 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 way to an easy win. However, Zhang gassed out, and Parker could play it safe, box, and move to win a twelve-round decision.
Parker will exploit Zhang’s poor gas tank in the rematch unless he fixes it, which is unlikely at 40. To win, Zhang will need 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 changed his style from a slugger to a boxer-puncher, mostly a boxer. He’s not entertaining to watch, 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 better. An in-shape Zhang would have made easy work of Parker, who was timid through most of the fight.
The Need for Weight Management
Zhang needs to lose 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 should have known he was carrying too much weight to battle a crafty defensive fighter like Parker after watching how he’d fought against Deontay Wilder in his previous fight last December.
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