Joseph Parker will fight Zhilei Zhang on the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou Sky Sports Box Office bill on Friday March 8; both Parker and Zhang are in the best form of their careers, coming off impressive wins over Deontay Wilder and Joe Joyce respectively
Tuesday 27 February 2024 16:08, UK
After an astonishing upset win over Deontay Wilder in December, popular New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker goes straight back into a hard fight.
On the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou, live on Sky Sports Box Office on Friday March 8, Parker will fight the formidable Zhilei Zhang, an Olympic silver medallist and the WBO's interim heavyweight titlist.
Zhang might be 40 years old but he is in the form of his life. He is coming off two consecutive stoppage wins over Joe Joyce, an Olympic silver medallist himself who is renowned for his resilience.
It is a demanding assignment. But then so was Wilder, who was widely regarded as one of - if not the - hardest punchers in the sport.
"It was a good performance and I was very happy I was able to go out there and execute the plan that we had in place. Wilder was a dangerous fighter but it wasn't his night. It was my night," Parker told Sky Sports News.
"So coming into this fight I'm going in with a lot of confidence from the last performance. I've been working with Andy [Lee, his trainer] in Ireland and we put in some great work. The hard thing about Zhang is finding sparring partners that are similar to him.
"As a younger fighter you go in there and you throw hands and combinations and you go for the kill and as time goes on you change, different trainers and you have different set-ups and I guess the set-up that I have now is the perfect set-up that I've been looking for.
"I've got a good balance and when I enter the fight I'm full of energy."
Zhang will be buoyed in just the same way by his most recent performance.
"Zhang's coming with supreme confidence with the two fights he had with Joe Joyce," Parker said. "Zhang has got a lot of power. He picks his moments and he picks his shots.
"Zhang's just going to bring it all night long and he's going to walk you down and throw shots. It's about being patient, boxing and moving and being smart."
As much as he is taking a risk with this fight, Parker believes victory would confirm his place in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division.
"I feel like I'm right at the top after the good performance in the last fight," he declared. "It's all about this fight coming up and what I can do with this fight.
"If I can put on another good performance, another clinic and a good win, then I'm right up there."
Watch Joshua vs Ngannou live on Sky Sports Box Office on Friday March 8.
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