Heavyweight trainer Billy Nelson is looking forward to the upcoming fight between Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
This is a big fight in the heavyweight division despite not being for any world honours. It comes after both men had big years in 2023.
Parker stayed active and fought several times which proved to very much count in his favour when he came up against the alarmingly inactive Deontay Wilder on the Day of Reckoning card on December 23.
He put on a ‘dominating’ boxing showcase that kept Wilder moving backwards and unable to detonate his once fearsome right hand. The points win for Parker set him up for this big night on March 8 on the undercard of Anthony Joshua versus Francis Ngannou.
The man in the opposite corner is imposing Chinese force Zhang, who twice bested Joe Joyce in impression fashion last year.
Speaking to Seconds Out, Martin Bakole’s trainer Nelson has now assessed how it might play out.
“In fairness, Wilder was a shell of himself, and you could say Joe Joyce was as well after the first defeat [to Zhang.]”
He then broke down the fight itself.
“Joseph is a good friend of mine, I’d love nothing more than for him to beat Zhang but I think it could be the same outcome as the Joyce fight.
“A big solid unit in front of you, Joe’s not the biggest heavyweight and I think Zhang might walk him down and get him with some big shots.”
Whoever comes out top is in a great position to fight the likes of Anthony Joshua or the winner of the undisputed contest between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.