Joseph Parker is scheduled to fight on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua v Francis Ngannou main event in Saudi Arabia on March 10 but his opponent remains unconfirmed.
Fresh from his impressive and wide points victory over former WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, Parker suddenly has options for another big payday.
Undefeated Croatian Filip Hrgovic suggested on social media this morning that he would welcome the opportunity to fight Kiwi Parker in Riyadh saying: “I accept your offer, Joe. Let’s do it, let’s go, baby. Let’s get down. Let’s get down to business. See you soon, baby.”
Parker repeated the message from Hrgovic, nicknamed “El Animal”, on his own channel.
However, while Hrgovic, ranked No.1 with the IBF, was bullish about the opportunity and would probably be a good fit for the quicker and more agile Parker, the fight is by no means guaranteed.
It may be instead that Parker, who recently celebrated his 32nd birthday, is matched with Chinese southpaw Zhilei Zhang, a powerful 40-year-old whose nickname is “Big Bang” and who is enjoying a hugely successful twilight to his career.
Last year Zhang stopped Englishman Joe Joyce twice in the United Kingdom – the second time even more impressively than the first, and at about 130kg and 1.98m he would enjoy a size and reach advantage over Parker.
Zhang is also deceptively quick and possesses a dangerous straight left hand.
In the first fight against Joyce, the only man to stop Parker, Zhang won in the sixth round after the bout was stopped by the ringside doctor for the cumulative damage suffered by his opponent.
In the second bout five months later, Zhang knocked Joyce out in the third round with a right hook to the temple.
In a twist, the only loss in Zhang’s 28-fight professional career came via a controversial points decision against an exhausted Hrgovic in Jeddah in 2022 when many observers believed Zhang did enough to win.
It is widely accepted that former WBO world champion Parker, who has a 34-3 professional record, finally lived up to his potential in beating the feared Wilder in Riyadh before Christmas.
It was far more dominant than his points victory over Andy Ruiz Jr in Auckland in 2016 when he claimed his world title at the age of 24. It also effectively ruled out a pencilled-in fight between Joshua and Wilder.
Parker, who has faced only one southpaw in his professional career, would likely require a similar performance against Zhang, who is ranked as the WBO interim champion behind Oleksandr Usyk (effectively the WBO's No.2). Parker is effectively ranked fifth on that list and as high as No.4 by the IBF.
The respected Ring magazine ranks Parker fifth behind Usyk, Tyson Fury, Joshua and Zhang.
Currently on holiday with family in Samoa, Parker will likely soon fly to London for a press conference in London where all will be revealed next Tuesday NZT.
“I feel like I’m back and it’s amazing to see the support,” he said. “It makes me want to go out and do even better than I did with Wilder.”
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