Joseph Parker’s Trainer Says Kiwi Is Full Of Confidence Before Zhilei Zhang Fight

Andy Lee the trainer of Joseph Parker says the Kiwi has a ton of confidence heading into his boxing match against Zhilei Zhang next weekend.

Parker is set to face Zhang on March 8 in Saudi Arabia on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou. Parker enters the fight as the underdog but Lee says the heavyweight boxer has full confidence in himself.

“Joe’s quite coy, he doesn’t give much away,” Lee said, via BoxingScene. “He doesn’t give much away, but he’s just full of belief and the training and the way he’s pushing himself in the weights gym, on the treadmill, with the fitness and also the boxing ring, and how he’s doing in sparring. … He’s full of belief… Joe’s a very clever fighter, a very experienced fighter. He’s got the conditioning to go along with that, so he’s right in the mix. And he knows he’s right there. There’s no doubts in his mind, and it’s given him the confidence to go into these big fights believing he’s going to win.”

Joseph Parker is coming off an upset win over Deontay Wilder, but Lee says Zhilei Zhang is a much different fighter and a different challenge than ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was.

“They couldn’t be more different, in every single way,” Lee said. “They’re completely different. Zhang is big, heavy, a counter-puncher, and he’s quite clever and economical, and he’s very well-schooled. Compared to Wilder, Wilder is the opposite of all those things…

“Even though we’ve done that with Wilder, we’re kind of back to square one,” Lee added. “With a guy who’s probably a bigger challenge, more dangerous than Wilder, so we have to be in the same mindset, with the same focus.”

Do you think Joseph Parker will beat Zhilei Zhang?