The future for former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder 43-3-1 (42) hangs in the balance after his third loss in four fights to Joseph Parker 34-3 (33) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The 38-year-old American was beaten to the punch all night, throwing little and landing even less. To put it bluntly, Parker boxed circles around him. The one-sided nature of the bout was reflected on the scorecards with Parker being awarded the victory 120-108, 118-111 and 118-110.
New Zealand’s Parker, 31, clearly benefited from recent ring activity with the Wilder fight being his fourth this year. By contrast, Wilder has boxed less than one round in the past two years.
With the win Parker places himself in firmly in the mix for another world title shot.
“He did catch me a few times on the guard and it’s very hard. If it landed clean then it could be a different story. Working with Andy [Lee] and George and not getting out of shape was important,” Parker said.
“This is massive and the best opponent I’ve ever faced. Tyson Fury gave us his time with sparring and was massively important.”
For Wilder, the future looks far less uncertain.
“We’ll see what happens, we still have a little bit left, but I did a great job managing my money. I’m a happy fighter. I’ll be back, and if not, then it’s been a pleasure. I don’t know [if I still have the same fire I used to], a lot has calmed me down,” Wilder said.
“I’ve been wearing this smile all week long and I’m still going to wear it. Nothing can stop me on that.”
The real loser out of the result appears to be former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 27-3 (24), who was expected to face Wilder earlier next year if he came through victorious.
The disappointment from Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn was palpable.
“Joseph did everything right tonight. I said in the build-up I don’t rate him [Wilder]. Wilder had no idea, no clue. He lost 120-108, lost every round, and he’s there in front of the referee at the end putting his hand up saying ‘I’ve won the fight.’ He’s not right,” the Matchroom Boxing boss told TNT Sports.
“That’s the reality. It was the most one-sided heavyweight fight I’ve seen. He had no power on the backend of the fight. It’s ruined our plans [for the Joshua fight in March].
“The future is not Deontay Wilder. If anyone’s going to ruin the plans, I’m delighted for Joseph Parker and [his trainer] Andy Lee… top, top men. Was it an upset? I don’t know. I’ve said before, this guy has never beaten an elite heavyweight. [Anthony Joshua] is leagues above Deontay Wilder.”
