Joseph Parker climbed off the deck to box his way back into title contention.

Zhilei Zhang scored two knockdowns but failed to capitalize on either instance, as New Zealand’s Parker outboxed the two-time Olympian to claim a majority decision. Judge Zoltan Enyedi (113-113) had the fight even after twelve rounds. Steve Gray (114-112) and Patrick Morley (115-111) scored for Parker, who won the interim WBO heavyweight title Friday evening from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The battle of two heavyweights with a proven track record to take on all comers was spent largely at close quarters. Parker, No. 4 at HVY, was subtle in his movement but not nearly as successful early as he was throughout his December 23 points win over former WBC heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder in this very venue. China’s Zhang, No. 3 at HVY, kept the former WBO heavyweight titleholder in his desired punching range and landed the more telling blows.

Parker felt the power of Zhang in a big way. A perfectly timed left hand by the middle-aged Chinese heavyweight produced the bout’s first knockdown. Parker’s nose was flattened as he fell to the canvas but he beat the count and made it to the bell.

Zhang played to the crowd as he made his way to the corner, and skipped around at the start of the fourth. His confidence was misguided, as Parker punched his way right back into the fight. Zhang showed a world-class chin as he shook off a right hand and clean left hook without barely breaking stride.

It was enough, however, to restore Parker’s confidence as he cleanly outboxed Zhang through most of the middle rounds. Parker maintained control to the point where Shaun George, Zhang’s head trainer and a former light heavyweight contender, urged his charge to apply more pressure. The insistence in the corner was that Parker could not handle the come-forward aggression, though it required a higher output.

Zhang floored Parker for a second time on the night midway through round eight. A straight left hand followed by a compact left hook caused Parker’s fall. However, Zhang once again spent the rest of the round admiring his earlier work which allowed Parker to fully recover and even land a right hand.

Parker forced Zhang to fight in reverse for the first time in the bout’s later rounds. Zhang landed a right hook that touched Parker’s chin late in round ten, though just out of range to maximize impact and end the fight.

Andy Lee, Parker’s trainer, was pleased with his fighter’s boxing display. The former WBO middleweight titlist urged Parker, a stablemate of WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs), No. 1 at HVY, to continue that approach in the final two rounds.

The advice proved sage. Zhang showed signs of fatigue, as would be the case for a 41-year-old heavyweight who came in at a career heaviest 291 pounds. Parker came forward in round eleven, behind his jab and followed with right hands down the middle. Zhang’s already low punch output dramatically decreased, to the chagrin of his corner who called for a knockout ending to take it out of the judges’ hands.

That moment never came close to materializing, and not because Parker sat on his lead. Zhang was unable to push back Parker, who was committed to textbook combinations and avoided the incoming—literally, as Zhang did not land a single punch in the final three minutes.

It resulted in his fifth consecutive victory for Parker (35-3, 23 knockouts), all within the past 14 months. His last three victories have taken place during Riyadh Season and he is now in line to challenge for his old WBO title.

The belt won’t be available anytime soon, though it hardly matters to Parker.

“We’re gonna do it again,” Parker told DAZN’s Ade Oladipo after the win. “There’s a rematch clause.”

Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) snapped a two-fight win streak, both in knockout victories over Joe Joyce. A sixth-round knockout saw Zhang lift the interim WBO title from Joyce (15-2, 14 KOs), No. 8 at HVY, who knocked out Parker in their September 2022 meeting.

The feat was repeated by Zhang, who big-banged Joyce in the third round of their rematch last September at OVO Arena Wembley. It led him back to Saudi Arabia, where he suffered his lone other career defeat in an August 2022 decision to Filip Hrgovic in Jeddah. The IBF title eliminator saw Hrgovic advance into title contention.

Zhang was in that mix until Friday’s debacle, though a rematch clause could get him back on track.

Parker previously held the WBO heavyweight title from December 2016 through his April 2018 unification defeat to then-unbeaten Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 knockouts), No.2 at HVY, who faced Francis Ngannou in Fridays main event.

It has been a long road back for Parker, who dropped a July 2018 decision to Dillian Whyte one fight later. He has since won eleven of his last twelve starts. Friday’s victory could leave him in position to one day challenge the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.

The bout was the co-feature to a six-fight DAZN/PPV.com pay-per-view event.