For a normal person, seven pounds can creep onto the scales almost unnoticed.

Most people take down their Christmas decorations having put on a bit of extra weight over the holiday period or return from a ten day vacation a kilo or two heavier than they were when they departed.

For a boxer used to boiling themselves down to an unnatural weight, seven pounds is a massive amount.

Some of benefits of not depriving their body are obvious - everybody likes being able to eat and drink a little bit more - but others only become apparent when the fighter hits the midway point of a grueling training camp.

Although Zach Parker hasn’t weighed 168lbs since his WBO interim title fight with John Ryder in November 2022, the 30 year-old from Derby has always classed himself as a super middleweight fighter and has had to keep himself within striking distance of the weight limit.

He has finally decided to campaign at light heavyweight and he has immediately begun to feel the benefits of letting his body get a little bit closer to where it would naturally be.

This weekend, Parker, 25-1 (18 KOs), was supposed to fight Ring Magazine’s No. 9 rated light heavyweight, Willy Hutchinson, 18-2 (13 KOs), on the undercard of the heavyweight fight between Derek Chisora and Otto Wallin at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena.

On Monday, Queensberry confirmed that Hutchinson has been forced to withdraw after suffering a dislocation to his left shoulder in training. The search is now on to find Parker a suitable replacement opponent,

Although the news will come as a major disappointment, Parker has at least had the opportunity to learn how his body feels at 175lbs.

“No injuries and feeling unbelievable to be fair,” Parker told The Ring.

“I think it's more even just putting a little bit of size on. Muscle is like the thing of youth, isn't it? So yeah, I'm feeling really good. All my trainers said how good I've been looking in sparring.

“I've had three or four people at a time sparring; almost one in, one out. So they've been putting me on my toes.

“I think Joe Rogan said something like, muscle is like body armor. You do it to make yourself feel better and, like I say, I've had no injuries throughout the whole camp.

“This is a camp I've been waiting for. The last few fights they've just put on me last minute. I've been training for the last four or five months since my wedding in September. So, yeah, I'm feeling unbelievable.”

Parker has spent 18 months rebuilding from the disappointing retirement loss he suffered to Ryder.

He sat at the top of the WBO rankings for a long time before finally being given the chance to fight for the interim title and put himself at the front of the queue for a fight with Mexican superstar, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

The result was heartbreaking but, maybe even more disappointing, was the fact that he never got the chance to show what he could do. Parker badly broke his hand early in the fight and was forced to retire after four rounds. Whilst he recuperated and planned a route back to prominence, he had to sit and watch Ryder go on to challenge ‘Canelo’ for the unified super middleweight title.

He has strung together three wins since then - a unanimous decision over former WBA super middleweight champion, Tyrone Zeuge, being the pick - and is now ready to get his teeth into another real fight.

He shouldn’t have to wait too long. If the Hutchinson fight can be rescheduled, it remains an intriguing, important match-up but the light heavyweight division could be about to become the land of opportunity.

On February 22nd, undisputed and Ring Magazine light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev, and Dmitry Bivol return to Riyadh for a rematch of the outstanding, closely fought battle they engaged in last October. Once their rivalry is complete, it would come as no surprise if boxing politics caused the undisputed title to quickly fragment.

He may be new to the division but a win over a fighter like Hutchinson will put Parker straight into the mix for big fights. He has plenty of high profile British rivals to take aim at

“All these lads want to get on these Riyadh Season shows. That's where the money is and where the profile is at the minute,” he said.

“I want to get on these massive shows with all the other main light heavies. So obviously Bivol and Beterbiev and there’s [Joshua] Buatsi and Callum Smith boxing soon. These are the sort of nights where I want to be mixing it with these big lads.

“I've been knocking around this level for the last three or four years. Obviously, I was mandatory for ‘Canelo’ for at least two years. This is definitely where I want to be. Get a good performance out and then we'll be rocking.”