Joseph Parker Upsets Deontay Wilder
At 38, the fighting future of Deontay Wilder is an uncertain one. The basic technical flaws were on display once again, and this time, that powerful right hand couldn’t save his night. And maybe, his career.
Joseph Parker boxed an almost perfect fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to outpoint an extremely disappointing former WBC heavyweight champion of the world. Was this really the fighter who was so uninspiring against the cruiserweight Jack Massey not so long ago. Parker has been active of late. Wilder hasn’t. Probably the key point of the fight.
Wilder lacked timing, output and any semblance of urgency and the wide scorecards reflected accurately what we all saw. The three judges scored it 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108. I couldn’t give Wilder more than three rounds. I was being generous. You didn’t really have any real sense that Wilder was going to turn it around. Parker didn’t seem to be in any imminent danger despite the fearsome punching reputation of the American.
Parker took control early. The pace was slow and pedestrian. That suited Parker. He was winning rounds with minimal effort. The New Zealander had a big 8th round, hurting Wilder and he was the fighter who was threatening the stoppage. Wilder seemed to sleepwalk his way through the entire fight.
Only in the 12th round did Wilder show any real desire to save the fight. But while Parker was showing some signs of fatigue, he did what he needed to see the fight out for a famous victory.
The much-talked about fight with Anthony Joshua now looks dead in the water. It will now likely go down in history as the fight that got away. If a fight is there to make, just make. Tonight tells you that. An awful lot of money has now been lost.
Wilder post-fight, talked like a fighter who has lost his fire, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he walked away for good. Parker can now look forward to a very big 2024. Make no mistake, he ruined a lot of plans tonight.
Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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