Zhilei Zhang will watch his former opponent Joseph Parker in a world title shot against new heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.
‘Big Bang’ has a unique perspective into Parker’s resilience, having dropped him twice back in March of this year when they fought. Despite the knockdowns, Parker took the fight on the scorecards.
That, plus a win against Deontay Wilder a few months earlier, put Parker in prime position for this world title shot against Dubois, who was also working on some top wins of his own.
The 27-year-old has beaten Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and, most impressively, Anthony Joshua all inside the distance within the last twelve months.
Parker will mark Dubois’ second defence of the IBF World Title following that knockout of ‘AJ’ and it takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 22 next year.
Speaking to Box Nation, Zhang said his gut was telling him that the belt will not change hands come fight night.
“I like both fighters. I respect both fighters. But somewhere in my gut feeling is telling me that Dubois is doing to win this one. I admire his style. I like how he approaches fights. I like Parker as well but subconsciously I believe Dubois is going to win it.”
Parker looks to become a two-time world champion having won the WBO belt with a close points decision over Andy Ruiz back in 2016. He made two successful defences (Razvan Cojanu and Hughie Fury) before losing it to Joshua.
