Former world heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker face daunting tasks on Friday night in Saudi Arabia.
At Thursday’s weigh-in, the pair were massively out-weighed by their respective opponents, Francis Ngannou and Zhilei Zhang.
Former heavyweight champions out-weighed
Joshua, who aims to outdo UK rival Tyson Fury by knocking out Ngannou, is twenty pounds lighter than the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Zhang overpowered Parker by a whopping 44 pounds on the scales, with the Chinese juggernaut favored to win the fight. That’s despite Parker defeating Deontay Wilder in his last fight.
Discussing the fight, Zhang said: “By sitting here, I am getting the recognition I deserve. Everybody saw what I did to Joe Joyce, back to back.
“Joseph Parker is a helluva fighter; he is young, hungry, and here for the belt. I am the tiger here. I am here to hunt. If you want to take the food out of my mouth, you are going to pay the price.
Parker stated: “Zhang says he wants to bang me. I want to tell Zhang, ‘I want to bang you.’’ Zhang did an excellent job in beating Joe Joyce twice. I’m a totally different fighter now from when I fought Joe Joyce, physically and mentally.
“I am up for the challenge. I am always up for the challenge. He is the favorite going into this fight, but I will show you what I can do come to fight night.
“I have a great team that I fully trust and believe in. When everything is going good in camp, you feel great, and you are seeing results, I feel dangerous, I really do.
“Zhang is going to feel that danger. I am going to go in there and bang him!”
Joshua vs Ngannou / Zhang vs Parker weights:
Joshua vs Ngannou weigh-in results:
Anthony Joshua – 252.4lbs
Ngannou – 272.6lbs
Zhang vs. Parker weigh-in results:
Zhang – 291.6lbs
Parker – 247.6lbs
Setting the scene for the main event, Eddie Hearn added: “Every fight is important in this process to regain the world heavyweight championship. This is a fight that came out of nowhere.
“Francis, through his achievements in MMA, earned the chance to step up on the big stage. He performed excellently against Tyson Fury and earned the right to fight any heavyweight.
“It is quite remarkable that on his professional debut, he fought Tyson Fury. Now he is fighting Anthony Joshua. It is a fantastic run and a real challenge.
“I can’t see any aspect in which Francis is better than Anthony. However, he is strong, he is powerful, and he’s dangerous. AJ will do what he does, and that is to perform.
“This is the best Anthony Joshua we have ever seen in his career. He is the best heavyweight on the planet.”
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