Joseph Parker has been lavished with praise by heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua after his victory over Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia, the Englishman saying Parker will “go down in history”.
Parker recovered from knockdowns in the third and eighth rounds on his way to a majority points decision over 12 rounds at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, the New Zealander’s far superior fitness allowing him to sustain a workrate that Zhang simply could not cope with.
The victory for the interim WBO world title is Parker’s fifth in a row after his stoppage defeat to Joe Joyce in September 2022, and it came after his sensational win over former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder in the same arena just before Christmas.
Parker’s willingness to fight anyone, anywhere – Joshua, Andy Ruiz Jr, Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora and Carlos Takam also feature on his resume – and ability to bounce back from disappointments, including that defeat to Joyce (his first stoppage loss as a professional), has earned him praise from around the boxing world.
Immediately after Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in a stunning performance in the main event, the former two-time world champion, who is also on his way back to the top, left no doubt about his respect for Parker.
“Parker, for me, I think of the heavyweights he will go down in history,” Joshua told IFL TV. "He’s one you can learn from.
“He’s had his trials and tribulations and he just comes back stronger and stronger. Obviously, I’ll fight him if I need to, but aside from that, I take my hat off to him.”
Parker will return to Auckland for a break after an extremely busy schedule under head trainer Andy Lee and conditioner/nutritionist George Lockhart which had Parker looking as good as he ever has during his 12-year professional career.
Zhang, a notoriously hard-punching southpaw, earned knockdowns via a straight left hand and a right hook to the back of Parker's head but otherwise did little else during the fight.
Parker’s movement and relentless feinting tired Zhang, 40, who didn’t land a punch in the final round. By contrast, the 32-year-old’s hand speed and workrate improved, if anything.
“It was a tough challenge, I got caught with a few shots but I was able to keep calm and keep cool and keep focused and stick to the plan which was to box and move and fight smart,” Parker said.
Parker was cut over his nose by the punch which put him down the first time.
“I was a little worried when I felt the bleeding,” he said. “Zhang is a sharp shooter, I had to recover very quickly. I’m very lucky and very blessed that I’m in great shape. I worked very hard so I was able to recover a lot quicker than other fighters in the same position.”
One of the big reasons for Parker’s success has been his preparation under Lee and in particular, the quality of the sparring partners Lee has been able to attract.
Parker has fought only one southpaw as a professional and there were questions about the angles and direction of attack that Zhang could trouble him with.
However, with men such as Croatian Agron Smakici, 19-year-old Englishman Moses Itauma, who is undefeated after 22 professional fights and is a future world champion according to Lee, American Zach Spiller and Croatian Petar Milas helping him, Parker looked prepared for most things.
It all meant that his fitness was unrivalled. It also meant he was better able to recover from those two moments of extreme adversity.
“Zhang does tire in a lot of fights but we weren’t banking on him getting tired. I could have gone 20 rounds but I had to be very smart in there – pick my shots and pick my moments.”
Of the knockdowns, he said: “I thought to myself 'it’s just a knockdown'. You don’t prepare for it but that’s when you have to show true heart.”
There is a rematch clause which means Parker will have to fight Zhang again next – should his Chinese opponent elect to – but he is unlikely to fight again for four months at least.
The next heavyweight fight of global significance is the delayed Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk for all the belts in Riyadh on May 19 NZT.
Parker’s resilience and skill has got him to the point where Usyk, Joshua, Fury and Filip Hrgovic are all possible future opponents should he beat Zhang again. He is currently the mandatory challenger to Usyk's WBO world title, a belt Parker won in 2016.
As for Joshua’s effort – a stunning second-round stoppage - Parker said: “Sensational, a brilliant performance.”
Fury said of Parker: "I'm so proud of him. Joe did so well to get up from two knockdowns. He showed the heart of a champion and got it done."
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