Joe Joyce Hopeful Joseph Parker Can Beat Zhilei Zhang

Joe Joyce is rooting for Joseph Parker to get his hand raised against Zhilei Zhang on March 8.

Parker and Zhang are set to fight in Saudi Arabia in a highly-anticipated matchup, where the winner could get a crack at a title next time out.

Heading into the fight, Joe Joyce is familiar with both of them as he beat Parker by KO and has lost back-to-back fights to Zhang by stoppage. Leading into the bout, Joyce says he will be rooting for Parker to get his hand raised.

“I’m hopeful Parker can do it,” Joyce told Secondsout.com, “can beat Zhang and like be just a little bit more, I don’t know, smart and skillful than I was and get in there. But Zhang, he’s very accurate, and if he hits him with a good shot, he can put Parker down no problem.”

Joe Joyce believes it is an interesting fight and one he will be paying close attention to. Parker thinks Zhang is a tough fight for Parker but he does think it is a toss-up on who will win.

“Parker, I think he’s got more experience fighting southpaws,” Joyce said. “It’s a real interesting fight for me to see. Yeah, I’ve obviously fought them both. Zhang is very accurate. And he doesn’t throw a lot of shots, but with those shots, the shots that he does throw are very powerful and meaningful. Parker throws quite a lotta shots, he’s got a good chin, he’s durable and he’s got a good boxing brain. So, I think it’s a good fight…

“Zhang is very good,” Joyce said. “Don’t get me wrong, he was very sharp and accurate and powerful as well – and tough. He’s tough as well. He can take a shot, too. So yeah, he’s one to be, people are gonna have to watch out for. And I’m really looking forward to this one against Joseph Parker, just being announced. That’ll be interesting to see how they get on.”

Who do you think wins, Joseph Parker or Zhilei Zhang?