by Drama and hype, those familiar boxing staples, returned to the ring in Riyadh when heavily favored Deontay Wilder lost his heavyweight contest against Joseph Parker. In an embarrassingly one-sided fight, with Wilder looking a shell of his former self and his technical flaws magnified more graphically than ever, Parker boxed with nostalgia and belief to earn the unanimous decision by overwhelming margins 118-111, 118-. 110 and 120-108.
The big plans of Saudi Arabia and some of boxing’s most famous promoters have been scuppered as this was meant to be the last hurdle left in Wilder’s path before he seals a hugely lucrative fight against Anthony Joshua in Riyadh this March next. Joshua kept his side of the deal when, in a contrasting display of controlled brutality and mean spirit, he knocked down Otto Wallin and outpointed Otto Wallin before the Swedish heavyweight’s trainers took the fight away at the end of the fifth round.
Related: Joshua Wallin, Wilder stopped by Parker: heavyweight boxing doubleheader – live
If Joshua did show up, though, he would have deserved more praise if Wilder, rather than Wallin, was in the other corner. There would be little doubt that Joshua would have added the much more prominent name of the American to his resume if the highly anticipated fight had not been pushed back to March. But the arrogant assumption that both Wilder and Joshua would prevail, and earn everyone even more money in the process, was shredded by the admirable and much better Parker.
Wilder had walked to the ring with a heavy gold crown on his head as if he was already the supreme fighter of the night. But he barely threw a blow in the first round as he looked long behind Parker who had previously won a version of the world title. Parker was a little more aggressive, fighting on the front foot, in the first few rounds and his trainer, Andy Lee, urged him to take more risks. Lee stressed to his fighter that he could knock Wilder out if he backed him up against the ropes. But Parker knew he had to maintain a determined concentration because Wilder, more than any other heavyweight in the world, has the ability to score a chilling one-punch knockout at any time.
In the fourth round Parker tried to follow Lee’s advice and, with Wilder pinned against the ropes, let his hands go in a short flurry. He nailed Wilder more effectively with a right overhand near the end of the round and, right away, it seemed that the American was unsteady on his long, spindly legs. Midway through the fifth Parker landed another strong blow as Wilder struggled with his timing after boxing just one round since losing to Tyson Fury in an epic fight in October 2021. That fierce trilogy against Fury, who lay it out twice. hurt Wilder.
Wilder finished the sixth round but was well behind on the scorecards as they moved into the second half of a grueling bout. It was clear he was expecting to detonate a huge right that would knock Parker out cold. But the best punch of the round came again from Parker.
Wilder finally caught Parker with a heavy blow in the eighth but the New Zealander took the impact. Moments later Parker unleashed a ferocious barrage of punches – starting with a huge right hand that Wilder raised. Parker followed up and Wilder made a splash against the ropes. It was a bold but sure attack that showed belief cruising through as the bell rang to Wilder’s relief.
It took most of the ninth round for a passive Wilder to collect himself as he barely threw a meaningful punch. In the final 30 seconds he finally seemed to clear his head and, on the ring, landed his best right hand of the night. Parker remained alert and calm as the fight drew to a close. Wilder won round 10 but was in desperate need of a trademark knockout.
He threw desperate punches in the last round, finally finding the urgency that was missing during his terrible performance. But, once again, the hardest action to land came from Parker. Wilder raised his fist in the air at the end but deep down, he knew he had lost badly.
Twenty minutes later, just before 2.30am in Riyadh, Joshua and Wallin finally entered the ring. Joshua started, looking crisp and focused, much more positive than he has done in recent fights. His left jab looked fluky and went to the body and head with his heavier right hand as Wallin was tentative against the former world champion. The Swedish heavyweight began bleeding from his nose midway through the second round as Joshua’s clubbing punches took their immediate toll. Now trained by Ben Davison, who used to work in Fury’s corner, Joshua cut a different figure from the cautious fighter he was in his previous two rounds this year.
Wallin performed creditably against Fury in 2019 but is a fairly limited boxer whose only distinguishing feature is his southpaw stance. He again failed to test Joshua in the next two rounds as the British fighter methodically dominated. Wallin took big gulps of breath as he returned to his corner, looking lost and tired, at the end of round four.
He was badly injured in the fifth when the combination of a right cross and a left hook landed with brutal consequences. Wallin was shaken to the core and had to endure many more penalties before the clock gave him merciful relief. The blow delivered by Joshua was sure to result in a knockout but Wallin’s corner made the wise decision to end the fight early on after he collapsed on his stool with his face cut, bruised, swollen and limp. Joshua’s win was his most impressive performance in recent years – but it should be said again that Wallin is nowhere near the standard of Fury, Oleksandr Usyk or even Parker.
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After losing his world titles to Usyk, who won him in consecutive rounds in 2021 and 2022, Joshua is slowly rebuilding his career. He can look forward to 2024 – and the prospect of finally fighting the winner of February’s world title unification bout between Fury and Usyk which will be held again in Riyadh.
Eddie Hearn, his promoter, is once again calling him the best heavyweight in the world. But, now that his fight against Wilder has been abandoned, Joshua will have to prove that he can produce a similarly commanding performance against Wallin’s much better opposition. Parker is the obvious next step, but that potential rematch between the two men would again be a risk to Joshua.
In the ring afterwards Joshua remained calm as he described boxing as a “treacherous business”. Wilder will understand the painful truth of those words as something explosive, if surely his flawed career is now much closer to a sad end.
