Deontay Wilder vs Anthony Joshua looks to be off after the American was beaten by Joseph Parker.
The pair clashed in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night and Wilder put in a lacklustre performance as he fell to defeat against fellow former heavyweight world champion Parker.
Parker continually caught Wilder with the overhand right throughout the fightCredit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom
This scuppers plans for a fight in 2024 with Joshua, who fought on the same card against Otto Wallin and forced the Swede’s corner to pull their man out after an impressive performance.
At 38, it is hard to see where Wilder goes next – but all credit has to go to Parker who beat the odds and will undoubtedly move on to a huge fight in the near future.
There was barely a punch thrown in the opening few rounds, as Parker was understandably wary of Wilder’s potentially devastating right hand and he stayed out of range.
Parker picked up the pace a little in the third round, landing a few decent jabs, as Wilder continued to ominously search for that fight ending right hand.
Wilder could not find a rhythm through the twelve rounds
The fight then came alive, as Parker began to tee off and he enjoyed some success, landing a few big right hands and quick combinations.
Wilder finally unleashed his right hand in round six, but the man from New Zealand dealt with it well, as he continued to build a lead on the judges’ scorecards.
By round eight, Parker looked extremely confident, sticking to his game plan and towards the end of the round he almost had Wilder out of there, pinning him against the ropes and landing overhand right after overhand right.
Wilder survived, however, and recovered through round nine, even throwing big shots of his own, but nothing that particularly troubled Parker.
Parker was delighted with the victory
As the fight entered the championship rounds, Wilder was still showing no sign of urgency despite the bout being close to slipping away from him.
And in the final round of the fight, Wilder finally let his hands go, swinging wildly at his opponent, but Parker stayed in there and earned his victory, as he shocked the world to claim an unanimous decision win with scores of 118-111, 118-110, 120-108.
In his post-fight interview, Wilder was gracious in defeat, saying: “My timing was off a little bit. Joseph did a great job. No excuses tonight, a good fight and we move on to the next thing.”
Asked whether the talk of a Joshua fight was a distraction, Wilder replied: “A little bit, a lot of talk about a lot of different things. I’m a happy fighter. I’m a warrior, I’ll be back soon. And if not, it’s been an enjoyment and a pleasure.”
Wilder continued: “I’m a warrior, I’ll be back soon. If not, then I appreciate the love and support everyone has given me over the years. Life is about falling and getting back up, you must get back up.
“My timing was off a little bit, big up to Joseph as he did a great job avoiding all of my punches. We make no excuses tonight.
“We’re not going to base it off inactivity, we move onto the next and live to see another day. I tried to stay calm, throw jabs and set up my right hand. I felt like I had the upper hand but these things happen.”
