(02-20-2024, 06:04 PM)bart Wrote: [ -> ]AJ dropped him in the amateurs but that was years ago.
ZZ fights well in close for a big man so in and out is the key and on the outside of his lead foot as much as possible.
JP has a quick left hook which i see him employing.
Keep the fight at a pace which ZZ finds uncomfortable.
A win here and JP is top 3 and a def title contender
JP has to be unpredicable with his kami kaze raids, otherwise ZZ will time him when he comes in and KO him. Keep ZZ guessing and off balance. And as bart says, make him work as ZZ does tend to pace himself during rounds.
oshua v Ngannou: Joseph Parker’s road to title shot mapped by rematch clause with Zhilei Zhang
By Liam Napier
21 Feb, 2024 01:00 PM
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 Anthony Joshua 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.”
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.
“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 to 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.”
Personally I think that is wrong... rematch clause for a non-title fight is weak and even title fights. If a fight is controversial or a draw then yes but otherwise it slows everything down as sometimes its a 12 month wait before both parties agree etc.
Win or lose move on to another challenge I say.
In saying that if JP wins he has already lined up another lucrative payday and will have sometime to wait for any title fight due to Uysk and Fury both having rematch clauses
Isn't ZZ the wantabee, almost, interim champ who wants to hold onto that in hopes of getting a REAL title shot at a belt? Doesn't sound like he's too confident with a rematch clause. There's no great fights coming up for JP in the next year anyway, so why not fight ZZ again for big $$$? Unless we call Hrgovic a big fight? No.
I suppose the only way to get out of a rematch is to beat him so dominantly that there is no demand to see it again.
Yes ZZ is interim holder so if WBO takes belt off the Fury/Usyk winner the interim guy takes the belt...I'm 80% sure.
Good on JJ and ZZ who have been interim holders for taking live fights
Hygovic has choosen the other route being IBF either interim or mandatory by fighting bin men
Heaps of moving parts once these guys decide to fight each other. Will be interesting to see who Hrgovic fights next. In the meantime, we're two weeks away from JP/ZZ and AJ/Ngannou.
Parker has finally entered his prime
Best trainer, best conditioning, best fitness and ring IQ of his career
Now is the time to show ALL that he has got
Agreed totally Kiwi.
A quote I admired from Graham Lowe many years ago went something like" Training hard and preparation gives you the opportunity to win but not the right to win" I have always liked that , JP has given himself the opportunity to win and he should be praised for that and for the fact he is in a small group of elite heavies who will fight contenders.
At the end of the day win lose or draw I think he should be respected as one of NZ's best sportsman now