On the night of March 9, a fight for the interim WBO heavyweight title between Joseph Parker and Zhang Zhilei took place on the main card of Boxing Night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This fight lasted the whole distance and ended in favor of Parker by a split decision of the judges. Thus, he became the new interim WBO world champion.
Zhilei's previous fight was against Joseph Joyce in September 2023. In this fight Zhang won by knockout in the third round. Now he has 26 wins (21 by knockout), two losses and one draw.
Parker previously stepped into the ring against Deontay Wilder in December 2023. This fight lasted the entire distance and ended in Joseph's favor with a unanimous decision of judges. Now he has 35 wins (23 by knockout) and three defeats.