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In his quest to secure another world heavyweight title shot, Joseph Parker must defeat Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang not once but twice after agreeing to a one-way rematch clause.
Parker and Zhang square off in Saudi Arabia on March 9 (NZT) in one of the headline attractions as AnthonyJoshua takes on former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on the same bill.
As he seeks to seize momentum, following his career-best win over feared former champion Deontay Wilder at the same venue, Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena, Parker confronts another sizable challenge knowing he has a potential two-fight date with Zhang.
With limited elite-level opponents on offer after neutralising Wilder’s power, Parker was left with little choice but to accept the one-way rematch clause that is designed to protect Zhang’s status as WBO interim champion after his two impressive stoppage victories over Joe Joyce.
“With the rematch clause, it gives us no options to fight anyone else when we win,” Parker told the Herald after arriving in the Saudi capital two and a half weeks before fight night to acclimatise and finalise preparations.
“In order to get the fight, it was one of those things where this fight comes with the rematch clause. There was no other option. If we didn’t take it, they would’ve given it to someone else.
“We’re always keen to take the best, biggest fights but they come with fish hooks. In this case, it’s a rematch clause. They’re trying to protect what Zhang has. He’s got the interim belt and he’s mandatory for the WBO title.”
Zhilei Zhang celebrates victory over Joe Joyce. Photo / Getty Images
The rematch scenario leaves a simple scenario that, should he emerge successful against Zhang, which is by no means an easy task, maps out Parker’s short-term future.
While Parker won’t earn the $10 million he pocketed against Wilder, the prospect of multiple lucrative fights in Saudi can’t be scoffed at.
“The organisers in Saudi, Frank Warren, Spencer Brown, they all want to see the best fights they can put on. There’s no other fight I could have taken on this level after a good win against Deontay Wilder so we said yes straight away.
“Unless I put a massive performance on and Zhang doesn’t want a rematch it could be different but at the moment it puts things in place; beat him once, beat him again and then you’re free to fight anyone else out there in the division.”
A potential rematch with Zhang won’t hurt Parker’s title aspirations. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s unification fight has been rescheduled until May 18 and with a rematch clause in place, the respective champions are likely to keep the belts locked away for the remainder of this year.
While the rematch clause could pit Parker against Zhang twice, the 32-year-old Kiwi remains fully focused on their initial meeting next month before returning home for the birth of his fifth child in April.
Zhang (26-1-1) is a heavy favourite with bookmakers, predominantly because Joyce stopped Parker in their 2022 clash. Zhang, conversely, battered Joyce into submission in their first fight before knocking the big Brit out in the third round of their rematch last September.
A southpaw with devastating power in both hands, Zhang is a difficult, dangerous prospect.
The 40-year-old Chinese veteran is the second southpaw Parker will face in his 37-fight professional career - after Jason Bergman in 2016 in Samoa - and will therefore require significant adjustments from the Wilder victory.
Joseph Parker's win over Deontay Wilder has him back in the hunt for another heavyweight title shot. Photo / Getty Images
“Fighting southpaws is a lot different and the preparation is a lot different. It’s a lot harder to find sparring partners that replicate what we want to prepare for Zhang. Being a southpaw, he would’ve fought a lot of orthodox fighters throughout his career,” Parker said.
“Joyce stopped me in the 11th round and I’ve never made any excuses but I know I’m a lot different fighter now.”
Just as he did against Wilder, Parker is expected to try utilise his speed and movement. Survive to the midpoint of the fight and Zhang’s stamina could be exposed in the later rounds.
“Zhang is coming off two great wins so he’s full of confidence. He’s definitely powerful. We’ve done a bit of study on him so we know his strengths and weaknesses.
“The more we practise things in sparring, the more confident I become. We’ve got good sparring partners here in Saudi that Andy Lee has organised so in another two weeks I’ll be ready to execute the plan.”
After four straight wins and now on his fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, Parker believes he’s finally found the sweet spot, with trainer Lee and strength, conditioning and nutrition expert George Lockhart combining to spark a physical transformation that’s revived his career.
“I feel addicted to this life of training. It’s taken me 11 years but I feel everything is aligned. It feels good to be back. I want to continue from the two good wins, continue giving everything I have, and that will set us up for the rematch and more big fights.”
As for the Joshua and Ngannou main event, Parker is refusing to rule out an upset after the Cameroon-born heavyweight almost stunned Fury in his professional boxing debut last October.
“I can’t call it. You would think Joshua but Francis in his first professional boxing fight against Tyson Fury was incredible. He put on the performance of his life. Everyone underestimated what he could do but being a champion in the UFC, Francis can take a punch, an elbow, a kick. He’s been here training and putting in the work so anything could happen.”
