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Joseph Parker has caused a serious upset in the world of heavyweight boxing by defeating Deontay Wilder via unanimous decision on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ pay-per-view card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The 38-year-old was a shadow of himself in Riyadh, failing to connect with anything of note and was hurt badly in the eighth round.

New Zealander Parker, also a former world champion, was awarded a unanimous decision with the judges’ scoring it 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108.

American Wilder went into the fight heavy favourite, expected to produce yet another highlight reel knockout, but that wasn’t the case as his New Zealand opponent looked comfortable in the ring from the very first bell, producing some huge shots along the way to victory as well, including a serious bombardment on his opponent in round eight, which nearly produced the stoppage.

You could tell who had been active recently and who hadn’t, truth be told, with Parker looking at ease and in control from the very first round, whereas Wilder didn’t look his normal self, struggling to defend and struggling to land anything of note. He didn’t even really create an opening to throw one of his huge right hands.

It was then in round eight where Parker found most of his success, seriously wobbling his opponent, who was left stranded in the corner, clinging on for dear life, but cling on he did, arguably saved by the bell as the New Zealander continued to land shot after shot on his American opponent. It was this attack from Parker that seemingly woke Wilder up at last, but it was all too little, too late. He tried his very best in round 12 to get the knockout, but it didn’t come, and he was made to rue his rather lethargic performance.

It must be said, Wilder hadn’t fought until tonight since he defeated Robert Helenius in the very first round last year, while Parker has fought three times in this calendar year alone, and that clearly played a huge part in the end result, it would seem.

The heavyweight division has been stunned

In what is a huge blow for Doctor Sleep, his new nickname after seemingly dropping The Bronze Bomber tagline, who knows what’s next for him in his professional boxing career. At 38 years old, could it signal the end? Everything was set up for a superfight against Anthony Joshua at some point next year, but after losing to Parker, is that fight still a viable option?

After the fight, Wilder was asked in the ring if he felt he had done enough to beat Parker on the night, to which he responded: “Yeah I did, but my timing was off a little bit. He did a great job avoiding my punches, we make no excuses tonight.”

As for Parker, this is a huge victory for him, especially at this time in his career, so it could be very exciting to see what’s next in store for him, but a return to the championship scene could come about in 2024 if he plays his cards right.

Speaking in the ring after the fight, Parker addressed the pre-planned Wilder vs Joshua fight, stating: “Everyone had plans, other plans, but this is God’s plan… Tyson Fury, thanks for all your help, I appreciate it a lot.”

Source: https://www.givemesport.com/joseph-parker-beats-deontay-wilder-to-shock-heavyweight-division/

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