Zhang vs Parker - Preview/Prediction Video

Parker by decision. Parker will hit the deck once but outbox Zhang, whos stamina is not the greatest and Parker is quite fit.

 

This for me is a hard fight to call, I agree with Rummy's good video analysis on picking Zhang but as he pointed out there's a 40 year old fighter in the ring and history is not the kindest to fighters of that age. I'll be curious as to the odds for this one come fight night. Footnote: I'd like to congratulate Parker and Zhang. After losing badly against Joyce, Parker pulled up his trunks and went back to work doing what fighters today won't do ,,,,,staying active ! , even with a couple of wins I wasn't convinced he would do well but here he is. Zhang rebounded from that horrible draw and a close loss by staying active too and being willing to fight a dangerous guy like Joyce. Those are good examples for the rest of the division.

 

Zhang will win this. I think people complete dont understand how dangerous Zhang actually is.

Wilder fight proof not much. Parker in some rounds even dont have to avoid 1 single jab... Its easy to win on points with person who only land 3 punches per round and all what he try is same attack again and again and again.

Zhang will damage Parker because he is not boxer which people think he is. He always was attack dude with slow feet and quick hands. Good power punch and good chin. That's what Samoa got.
But Zhang is bigger, stronger, got better chin and got better punching power.

Its not accident that Parker got close decision with almost all his good wins and lost few fights with people who he should outboxed quiet easy.
Parker is just not good at outpoint other dudes.
And in Zhang fight he must come forward because he is smaller.

That's the main reason why stamina is not such a big deal here. Parker will be one who must work harder. Zhang will just wait for opportunity.
And he catch it.
Parker is not slick. Slow Joyce with much slower punch and hand speed was able to counter him and catch him again and again.

Zhang will do it eaven easier but all this catch will be much worse to Parker who will be KO here.

Maybe Im wrong. Maybe I underrated Parker but serioulsy I dont understand why people think its soo close fight. For me its 70-30 for Zhang in optimistic version and I think many here (and not only here) will be shocked after seeing how bad Joseph will look here.

 

I agree with most everything you say, but I think it's worrying how easily and how often Joyce was able to land on Parker. I think Joyce's speed is tricky, but he is indeed slow. If Joyce can land on him, Zhang will too. I don't know how Parker will take the shots. Zhang is deceptively fast and pressures well, and its the pressure that killed Parker against Joyce. Also Zhang shows he can still throw a bomb even when gassed against Hrgovic. I think they win over Wilder is really skewing people's view on Parker.

 

I'd put that down to Parker's game plan of coming in heavy and brawling Joyce which enabled Joyce so much success. He's not likely to repeat that mistake against Zhang.

 

Definitely, but still. He had close fights with sloppy sluggers like Chisora and Whyte. Parker is still very hittable and his boxing ability is being overrated. Parker has generally underperformed his whole career. Knocking out some bums and outboxing a shot-to-bits wilder doesn't change that.

 

Problem is people were saying that before his last fight too. He spend 12 rounds avoiding a fast right hand that dropped every other fighter he ever faced. It's not unreasonable to assume he can replicate that result against an older, slower fighter.

 

I'd wager at this point, Zhang is faster than Wilder. Wilder is shot to bits. Wilder never pulled the trigger, and Zhang will. Parker is just too passive a fighter. It's so frustrating.

 

When I am done with this Penny Porsche film, I will get to this.

 

Perhaps Parker was the reason Wilder was unable to pull the trigger. Nobody thought Wilder was shot pre-fight, and even had Rummy predicting a round 2 KO.

 

Haha The Rummy Curse exists for a reason. Tons of people thought Park would win, including me. Hell, I thought Parker was going to knock him out. He only gets special treatment and undue praise because he's American and America has no heavyweights. Wilder has clearly been past it since Wilder Fury 2.

 

So the Rummy curse means Parker is winning this one too?

Most still had Wilder winning, and he came off a first round KO of Helenius which suggested he still had something left after Fury. Rather than giving Parker credit everyone is assuming Wilder is shot, and if that were true AJ would be jumping to fight him for that Saudi money, not Ngannou.

 

True, that's why the strategy will be important. Against Joyce coming in heavy and going right at him was the totally wrong strategy and allowed Joyce to land regularly. Plus Parker has never learned to be a counter puncher and never had the ability to punish Joyce for simply walking him down.

If Parker fights as he has done previously under Lee and try to walk Zhang down, he's getting sparked out cold like Joyce. He has to revert back to what he did in the past in the first half of the fight, get off first then move to avoid Zhang's counter. He's never been particularly good at this if I'm honest as he's tended to hold his feet after throwing but he's up against a plodder who will become less of a threat as the fight goes on which is why Hrgovic another fighter who isn't particularly good on the back foot was able to out box Zhang when he did start to move more in the later rounds.

Zhang is far from unbeatable, but obviously dangerous. It will really come down to execution and strategy for Parker. If he comes in with the wrong strategy Zhang will make short work of him, but he has the tools to win, question is does he and his corner have the ring IQ to realise what needs to be done or will they repeat the mistakes of the Joyce fight. I'm hoping it's the former but fear it will be the latter.

 

This is a very interesting one to call - Zhang is sneaky fast with his shots, but Parker seems rejuvenated under Andy Lee, who guaranteed will have a gameplan to combat Zhang's strengths.

Based on the Wilder display and Zhang's stamina issues, I am currently favouring Parker by UD - BUT he will have to execute his gameplan really well in the first half of the fight and avoid Zhang's sneaky left

 

I agree.