Joseph Parker confirmed his toughness by getting up off the canvas twice to defeat WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang by a twelve-round unanimous determination final Friday night time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) says he saved his composure after the knockdowns and boxed well to win a slender determination by the scores 113-113, 114-112, and 115-111.
Most would agree that Zhang would have gained the combat if he had the conditioning to combat laborious for greater than three rounds as a result of he appeared like he was heading in the direction of victory early on.
Sadly for the 40-year-old Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs), he didn’t throw sufficient punches, permitting Parker to steal the rounds based mostly on exercise.
Parker’s Restoration
“I acquired the win onto the subsequent. The primary one, he caught me with a superb shot. I’m like, ‘Holy rattling, I’m down once more,’” mentioned Joseph Parker to iFL TV, discussing his victory over WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang final Friday in Riyadh.
The left hand that Zhang dropped Parker with appeared prefer it was thrown so effortlessly, but it bowled him over simply. Zhang adopted up briefly, however the spherical ended earlier than he might try to complete Parker.
“The second was behind the pinnacle,” mentioned Parker. “As a result of I used to be match and in form, I used to be capable of get well loads faster. I went again in there and took no matter he was going to deliver. I simply boxed well and saved my composure.
“Occasions like that, you simply need to calm down and go along with it and keep in mind every part you’ve been coaching on and dealing on,” mentioned Parker.
Zhang was respiration laborious and appeared exhausted by the sixth spherical, which allowed Parker to roar again to brush the second half of the competition.
Evaluating Zhang to Wilder
“His energy is true up there,” mentioned Parker when requested how Zhang’s energy compares to Deontay Wilder’s. “He landed two actually good photographs. The primary one was a extremely good shot. It caught me unexpectedly. The second, he caught me behind the pinnacle, however he does have energy.”
Parker didn’t get hit that a lot by Wilder of their combat final December because of the Bronze Bomber not throwing something. He was simply transferring round all night time and letting Parker win by being busier.
“When you let him punch you and also you don’t transfer your head, you’re going to really feel it very laborious,” mentioned Parker.
