Parker in Demand After Victory Over Zhilei

On March 8th, in the undercard of the clash between Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) and Francis Ngannou (0-2, 0 KOs), a fight for the "interim" WBO heavyweight title took place between New Zealand's Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) and China's Zhang Zhilei (26-2, 21 KOs). The confrontation ended with Joseph Parker's victory by split decision, after which the New Zealander received two fight offers immediately.

Zhang Zhilei made a post on Instagram:

"Congratulations to Joseph Parker, you were the better man tonight. It was a pleasure to share the ring with you. We must meet again, but I'm glad we both left the ring healthy," said Zhilei.

In turn, Joe Joyce (15-2, 14 KOs) also came forward with an offer on Twitter:

"Great job. Beat Zhilei again and let's have a rematch," wrote Joyce.

In September 2022, Joyce won against Parker by knockout in the 11th round.