Zheilei Zhang loses WBO interim heavyweight title, Joseph Parker reveals rematch clause

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China’s foremost boxer, Zheilei Zhang, who held the WBO interim heavyweight title last 24 hours lost his strap to New Zealand’s Joseph Parker hours ago. But Parker said there will be a rematch.

Following a huge upset against Deontay Wilder, Parker has scored another one by out-pointing Zhang as follows in the judges’ scorecards: 115-111, 114-112 and 113-113.

Though the New Zealander suffered knockdowns during the bout, he stood and continued till the end.

Speaking post-match, he said the following:

‘This is a great win. We’re on the up now. Zhang is a tough man. He knocked me down twice, but when I got back to the corner Andy told me to keep composed. Now it’s time to go home and celebrate.

‘It’s an incredible feeling coming back from that loss [to Joe Joyce], what’s next is I’m fighting Zhang again. They have a rematch so we’ll do it again.’

Zhang became a famous name in boxing’s heavyweight division after beating formerly undefeated Joe Joyce twice, but it was not his day during his bout with Parker.

Below is Zhang’s congratulatory message to Parker which was posted on Instagram.

‘Congratulations to @joeboxerparker you are the better man tonight. It’s a pleasure sharing the ring with you.

‘We have to see each other again but I’m happy we both came out of the ring healthy. Thank you Saudi Arabia.’