Joseph Parker celebrates victory over Zhilei Zhang (not pictured) with the title belt at the Kingdom Arena on 8 March, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Getty Images / Richard Pelham
New WBO Interim Heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang will almost certainly meet again, after the Chinese fighter's management indicated they were keen to initiate his rematch clause. Parker defeated Zhang in Riyadh on Saturday by majority decision, to improve his record to 38-3.
It was the second loss in the 40-year-old Zhang's career, who acknowledged that Parker was "the better man" for winning the fight.
"I'll go back and analyse everything. A true warrior don't go down like this. We'll come back. He was a better man tonight and I'll see him soon," Zhang told Sky Sport.
Part of that analysis will be figuring out just how Parker managed to win relatively comfortably on points despite being knocked down twice.
The answer will surely have a lot to do with conditioning, as the deeper the fight went, the busier Parker got while Zhang looked increasingly gassed.
"Zhang does tire in a lot of fights but we weren't banking on him getting tired," Parker said.
"I could've gone 20 rounds but I had to be very smart in there and pick my shots and moments. And that's what we've done."
However, Zhang's co-manager Terry Lane disagreed that his fighter's fitness was solely the issue.
Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker exchange punches during the WBO Interim World Heavyweight title fight between Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker on the Knockout Chaos boxing card at the Kingdom Arena on March 08, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Getty Images / Richard Pelham
"Parker's crouching and holding really threw Zhilei off and he never really found his rhythm," Lane said.
"According to Zhilei, he never was gassed, but really just felt frozen in the last third of the fight. After round eight, he thought he was up on the cards more than he actually was. Zhilei being a puncher, he never really had to worry about stealing rounds, but not doing much of anything for the last four will not win you fights. It's something that he will have to work on.
"But it was very close - and there were close rounds. He wins one more round on one card, and two more on another, he wins via majority decision."
Given that Parker now has his foot very much in the door in terms of a proper title fight in the next 12 months, the South Auckland-based heavyweight will presumably want to get this rematch scheduled as soon as possible. The next big date in the division is the long-awaited showdown between Parker's good friend and WBC champion Tyson Fury, and WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Both men are undefeated and the interest in the May 18 fight in Riyadh will be huge, as will its outcome. If the Ukranian Usyk wins, Parker's camp will be keen to get him into that picture, meanwhile the revitalised Anthony Joshua's plans may well involve a rematch with Parker as well.
For now though, Parker will be focusing on Zhang and securing another victory.
"Zhang is a hell of a fighter. Respect to him," Parker said.
"I fought him as an amateur. He beat me in the amateurs, and I've beat him in the pros. So it's one each."
Parker will be hoping to make that a winning scoreline soon, one that will set him on the path to bigger things later in the year.
