And potentially better than what Forrest did. People will have excuses for Zhang in the Forrest fight, I just think he struggled with the movement. Zhang is massive, possibly the biggest puncher in the division with a granite chin and a deceptively fast straight left but he moves his feet like he's in quick sand and has a poor gas tank. Zhang has looked impressive against 2 boxers with basically the same attributes and style in Joyce and Hrgovic. It was a good move coming in heavier for both the Joyce fights because his opponent was there to be hit and wanted to try push him around. If, possibly a big IF and this is obviously very dangerous for Parker, but if Parker stays on his feet and away from danger early on then he's right in this fight. If Zhang over comes this fight and gets a win he deserves a lot of credit. I've got this as basically a 50/50 with just a slight edge for Zhang but I wouldn't even completely rule out a stoppage for Parker. I also think Joyce gets under rated now, those Zhang fights probably damaged him but it was always going to take something monstrous like that to derail Joyce, he also had a little bit of bad luck in the first fight imo.
I find it odd, verging on amusing, how many people make Zhang a favourite in this. He might win, he's certainly got power and a decent chin. However... He's really not very proven at all. It's easy to look at two wins over Joyce, remember that Joyce beat Parker and assume that Zhang wins... But how many times have such triangle theories been wrong? In complete, impartial, seriousness... Zhang's entire record is a 50/50 against Hrgovic (who hasn't proved much, either) and two wins over Joyce. Where do you think his next best opponent ranks after those two fights? Top 20, top 30, top 50 perhaps? Nope - not even inside the top two hundred. So yes, Joyce is a solid highlight... But there's literally no depth whatsoever beyond that. On the contrary - Joyce is probably rated about right, now... Fringe contender at best. At the time of Zhang 1, he was getting written up as a top 5 fighter, an unstoppable legit contender who stood a real chance of winning a belt... His resume is very respectable for how quickly he built up - but it's nowhere near enough for the sorts of claims that were being made.
Considering it was in the post you quoted... Ummm... No? Parker went into that fight too heavy and I don't think was at his best - maybe he'd make the same mistake against Zhang, but I doubt it. It doesn't change that Zhang's resume is thinner than concentration camp bogroll.
At least he's been in many decent fights. If Zhang had, we'd know a lot more about him... And whether he can beat multiple styles at anywhere near that level... Whether he can hit guys that don't just offer up their chins... Etc
I think the Hrgovic fight was a good performance. Quick hands, timing, chin against a bit out of sorts but still quality fighter. Lacked a bit of stamina to get the decision. Parker hasnt got the in and out movement to avoid Zhang going forward. He will be in the wheelhouse, i think the stronger hard hitting man will come out on top.
I want Zhang to win. He brought excitement to the division. I want to see him fight Usyk for the undisputed title. Parker is tested and failed.
Decent, sure. But Hrgovic hasn't beaten anyone else particularly decent... It doesn't add much depth to go 50/50 with him.
By fighting only 3 times against top-200 opposition? By being 2-1 against hypejobs? The way people talk about Zhang, you'd think he'd been munching through legit contenders... In reality he hasn't done very much.
Zhang's problem vs Forrest was conditioning. He showed against Hrgovic his gas tank is improved and had no gas issues with Joyce. Not sure Parker can guage much from Forrest except Zhang has stepped up since and can go 12.
He became the lineal hypejob by beating the old lineal hypejob - Joyce has beaten one contender (Parker) and some gatekeepers.... Good for the number of pro fights he'd had, definitely - but nowhere near enough to make him a top contender.
If Parker fights smart and uses his good movement like he did against Windmill he's got a great chance in my view.