Joe Joyce believes that Zhilei Zhang will probably beat Joseph Parker, but sees a path to victory for the New Zealander.
Parker, a former WBO heavyweight champion, lost to Joyce but followed that up with a huge win over Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia in December.
He is set to return to the Kingdom when he takes on Zhang to contest the Chinese fighter’s interim WBO championship, which could put the winner in line for a title fight at some stage this year or next.
Zhang defeated Joyce to claim that title, and successfully defended in their rematch, and there will be plenty of attention on Zhang vs. Parker when they fight on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou live on DAZN.com on March 8.
Joyce believes that Parker’s age - at 32 he is eight years younger than Zhang - could be an advantage if the fight goes into the later rounds.
"He's a younger fighter than Zhang, if he can push him to those later rounds and Zhang gets tired that's when you'll see Parker put some shots together and he could potentially knock him out," Joyce told Sky Sports .
"Parker can be a bit more of a mover, Zhang's feet are very static but he holds that power and speed. He's tough as well. So Parker's going to have to box in and out. Maybe he's better at fighting southpaws than me.
However, on balance, Joyce still favours the incumbent, explaining: "If I was a betting man I would probably bet on Zhang. But I would like to see Parker win."
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