Former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker 34-3 (23) proved that activity matters when he easily outboxed former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder 43-3-1 (42) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
The fight was featured on the blockbuster ‘Day of Reckoning’ card headlined by the clash between former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 27-3 (24) and perennial contender Otto Wallin 26-2 (14).
American power puncher Wilder, 38, was expected to face 34-year-old Brit Joshua early next year in Saudi Arabia if both were victorious tonight. The status of that proposed bout remains up in the air.
It’s no secret that Wilder relies on his power to extract him from difficult situations, but now pushing 40 with less than a round under his belt in the past two years, it appeared that father time had caught up with him.
By contrast New Zealand’s Parker, 31, was having his fourth fight for this calendar year. He looked sharp and landed crisp punches throughout the bout, nullifying Wilder’s sporadic charges and comfortably controlling the contest at every distance.
Parker, who shares a trainer in Andy Lee with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, came away victorious by scores of 118-111, 120-108 and 118-110.
Fury holds a 2-0-1 record over Wilder in their trilogy, including two knockouts.
“A lot of respect to Wilder, a dangerous fight, but we trained hard for this fight,” Parker said after the fight.
“A lot of people had plans, other plans, but this is God’s plan. Today I got the win, merry Christmas to us.
“Maybe inactivity played a big part? It’s a great finish to the year.
“Practice, practice practice, work work work. I had to be switched on the whole fight.
“He did catch me on the glove and I could feel the power, if he landed it might have been different.
“Tyson Fury, thanks for all your help.”
Wilder has now lost three of his last four bouts. Against Parker he landed a dismal average of three punches per round, according to CompuBox.
“My timing was off a little bit. He did a good job avoiding my punches. No excuses. It wasn’t my night,” Wilder said.
With the Joshua fight seemingly now out of play, Wilder hinted at hanging up the gloves.
“We’ll see what happens, we still have a little bit left, but I did a great job managing my money,” said Wilder.
“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.
“I’ve been wearing this smile all week long and I’mma still wear it. Nothing can stop me on that.”
Whatever Wilder decides to do, it’s a long way back to the top from here. Based on tonight’s performance, expect little appetite for a bout against Joshua.
