China’s Zhang to fight Parker for interim WBO heavyweight title on undercard of Joshua clash with Ngannou in Riyadh
- Title-holder Zhang Zhilei and Joseph Parker will fight at Kingdom Arena on March 8
- Parker jumped into contention for belt after unanimous decision win over Deontay Wilder
China’s Zhang Zhilei will fight Joseph Parker for the interim WBO heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia in March.
The pair will compete on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s showdown with ex-UFC fighter Francis Ngannou at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on March 8.
Zhang had previously been linked with a fight against Deontay Wilder, but Parker’s unanimous decision win over the American in December put the New Zealander in contention.
The interim title holder, Zhang is coming off back-to-back stoppage wins over Joe Joyce, and has a 26-1-1 record since turning professional in 2014.
Parker, meanwhile, is a former WBO heavyweight champion, who had four fights last year, winning all of them.
The main event though pits Joshua against Ngannou, who only made his boxing debut in October, when he lost on a split decision to WBC world champion Tyson Fury in a non-title bout.
Ngannou almost delivered an upset when he dropped Fury to the canvas with a left hook in that fight, and he has questioned Joshua’s ability to take a punch.
“I heard that he doesn’t have a chin,” Ngannou said of the two-time world champion. “I don’t know if it’s true or not. We’re going to find out. I hope I have the opportunity to test that out, that’s my wish.”
The fight takes place three weeks after Fury takes on Ukraine’s WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title in Riyadh.
Joshua lost his belts to Uysk in 2021, and was also beaten in a rematch.
Co-promoter Frank Warren suggested the winners of the February and March fights could go on to meet later in the year.
“For the winner, the big fight’s happening on February 17, with Tyson and Usyk,” he said. “The winner of that, would we like to see them with the winner of this fight? Everybody in boxing would love to see that.”
