Zhilei Zhang Says He Underestimated Joseph Parker

Zhilei Zhang claims he underestimated Joseph Parker before their bout in March in Saudi Arabia.

Zhang entered the bout as the favorite, but he suffered a majority decision loss, despite dropping Parker. It was his second career lost as he lost his WBO interim heavyweight title. It was a lackluster fight for Zhang who says he underestimated Parker.

“I made a big mistake underestimating Parker,” Zhang told the Queensberry Promotions YouTube channel (via BoxingScene). “I had to admit it happened. At the same time, I learned a lot from that fight, we came back, we analyzed every little detail, and we corrected our mistakes. I believe the next fight, it’s gonna be a new me. We did make a few adjustments; we have nutritionist Chris Algieri, who’s helping us remotely … as you can see my face is trimming down already. I feel a lot better, but the power is still there.”

Zhang believes had he taken Parker seriously he would have won the bout with ease, which unfortunately didn’t happen.

“When I look at that fight, I could have won that fight pretty easily,” Zhang said. “But at the end of the day, I did underestimate Parker and, especially in the third round when I dropped him, I got really happy. Towards the later rounds, [Parker] started to change his strategy and started to duck down and clinch. That totally broke my rhythm.”

Although Zhang lost, he is set to box Deontay Wilder on June 1 in a big fight for the heavyweight division. Entering the bout, Zhang has confidence he will be able to KO Wilder.

“I don’t think this fight goes the distance because when Chinese power meets Alabama power, we’re gonna bang the hell out of each other,” he said. “This fight is not going to go the distance. ‘The Big Bang’ will bomb ‘The Bomber.’”

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