ZHILEI ZHANG VS JOSEPH PARKER - FULL FIGHT PREVIEW

Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker are a blend of heavyweight that should well deliver us a first-rate fight. So, with the pair colliding just a few days from now, let’s talk.

Let’s talk first about their revival in the wake of defeat. Both men left 2022 with blips on the record, meaning a fight between the two wasn’t really a source of fascination.

Yet fast forward two years, and it is arguably the hottest fight to make outside of the obvious.

Zhang’s rejuvenation came in unlikely circumstances, when he did what many thought no man could, and dismantled Joe Joyce. Not even just once, but twice.

He showed clean, strong fundamentals, with a rifle of a straight left hand to keep it company. It looked almost effortless, rudimentary even, yet so horribly effective.

It was a win made even better by the fact that Joyce was coming off the back of a career-best victory over a certain Parker just five months prior to his and Zhang’s first meeting.

It’s all very close at the top, isn’t it?

Parker’s defeat left him in an awkward place. Seemingly isolated from the world domain, some low-key wins, and some loitering amongst Camp Fury, kept him alive.

And when his chance came against Deontay Wilder, he grabbed it with both hands. In fact, he took it by boxing with both hands, whilst Wilder sat idle behind his innocuous jab.

Both Zhang and Parker now find themselves in a scrap to be next in line. That is, of course, behind the two contesting for undisputed, and the ever-present Anthony Joshua.

In terms of what we might see in the ring, well, Parker has made it clear that he isn’t there to be a sitting duck. He knows if he is, Zhang has the capacity to make him quack.

Yet for any fighter, in any situation, giving someone the run-around requires tremendous mental and physical aptitude. And, even if the mind is consenting, the body may falter.

Therefore Parker, albeit the younger of the two, has a much more difficult route to victory in Riyadh. Why? Well, Zhang wants nothing more than a right old bruise-up.

And, if he can get Parker in his grasp, it could be a very long (or short) night for the New Zealander.

Whatever happens, it is brilliant to see two flourishing form fighters make the most of their momentum by jumping into a fight with world consequences. Too many a time recently has a fighter been sitting on a victory, waiting for the bricks to move for them.

This is much more like it.