Joseph Parker secured a majority decision victory over Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia, winning the WBO interim world heavyweight championship and advancing closer to a title opportunity.
Parker, who had to recover from knockdowns in the third and eighth rounds, showed resilience and outworked Zhang for most of the fight.
Despite Zhang’s power, Parker’s activity and strategy earned him the win with two judges scoring in his favour and one judging it a draw.
Parker will have to face Zhang again due to a rematch clause.
Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua delivered a superb performance by knocking out Francis Ngannou in two rounds in the main event.
Joshua’s victory was highlighted by a powerful right hand that ended the fight, marking a major win over the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Both Parker and Joshua have positioned themselves as contenders in the heavyweight division, which anticipates an undisputed champion fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksander Usyk.
