It’s no secret Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder are expected to fight each other this June, on another stacked card in Saudi Arabia. News to this effect broke some weeks ago, although the fight has not been announced as official yet. But whether the fight happens or not, “Big Bang” Zhang says he will be fighting Joseph Parker in a rematch before the end of the year.
So, either Zhang feels absolutely confident he would defeat Wilder before going into a return fight with Parker, or Zhang is going to fight Parker only this year. Speaking with CGTN, the Chinese southpaw said he was “overconfident” going in to the March 8th fight with Parker, with Parker surviving two knockdowns to win a close decision.
“After defeating [Joe] Joyce I became overconfident, which made me a bit too relaxed when fighting Joseph Parker,” Zhang said. “In fact, in the first half of the fight, I had the upper hand totally. Towards the end, he changed his tactics. He tried to control the distance, so I couldn’t hit him. I started to feel anxious. We signed a rematch clause before the fight…..I was entitled to a rematch if I lost. If I had won, we wouldn’t have a rematch. The second fight will happen at the end of this year. We are working very hard right now to bring a fight to China. There are some difficulties in making it happen, but we are working very hard.”
So, will Parker-Zhnag II happen this year, and in China? It’s an interesting fight, even though some fans would likely prefer to see the Zhang-Wilder match up go down. Can Zhang, 26-2-1(21) up his work-rate in the second half of a rematch with Parker, or will the 40 year old giant fade down the stretch once again should the fight get that far?
If Parker, 35-3(23) is onboard for a return with Zhang, will the New Zealander wait around until the end of the year, with him not taking another fight in the meantime? Parker as we know from his recent, amusing call-out, wants a return fight with Dillian Whyte. Just what will 32 year old Parker’s next move be?
If they do fight again, who wins this time – Parker or Zhang?
