Anthony Joshua stopped Otto Wallin after five dominant rounds of a scheduled 12-round bout.
The former heavyweight champion dominated the fight from the start, picking apart Wallin and knocking him down until the Swede’s trainer, Joey Gamache, decided his fighter had taken enough punishment.
Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) has won three straight fights since losing back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk.
The winner appeared to be near his best, fighting behind his long jab and landing a variety of powerful punches to overwhelm Wallin, who was never able to get his bearings.
The blow that could have sealed Wallin’s fate was a big left hook that rocked him with about a minute left in the final round. He survived but when he returned to his corner and Gamache took a good look at him, the fight was over.
Wallin (26-2, 14 KOs) had won six straight fights since losing a decision to Fury in 2019.
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Joseph Parker defeated Deontay Wilder by unanimous decision in a one-sided battle between former heavyweight champions.
The official scores were 120-108, 118-110 and 118-111. Boxing Junkie scored it 118-110 for Parker, 10 rounds to two.
Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) executed a smart game plan, staying out of reach of a big puncher or running in to smother him while finding opportune moments to attack.
The New Zealander was especially effective with his right hand, which found the mark on numerous occasions.
Wilder waited more than he struck, evidently trying to find an opening to land his vaunted right hand. That never happened. As a result, he let round after round and, ultimately, the fight slip away.
The victory was one of the biggest in the career of Parker, who has won four straight fights since being stopped by Joe Joyce in September last year.
He is now in a strong position to fight for a major title next year.
Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) had fought just one round in the last two years, his first-round knockout of Robert Helenius in October of last year. That followed back-to-back knockout losses to Tyson Fury, which could have taken something away from the 38-year-old.
He and Anthony Joshua had agreed to meet in March if things went well on Saturday.
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Dmitry Bivol knocked down the overmatched Lyndon Arthur en route to winning a shutout decision in defense of his 175-pound title.
Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) dominated the fight from the start with his consistent jab, quick straight rights, the occasional body shot and his ability to avoid his opponent’s best punches.
Arthur (23-2, 16 KOs) punched and threw some powerful punches, but he was more concerned with surviving (parrying Bivol’s punches, ducking or hanging on) than mounting his own offense.
This is how Bivol was able to win round after round in a one-sided fight.
Bivol floored Arthur in the final seconds of round 11, the result of a flurry of shots capped by a vicious left hand to the body that forced Arthur to his knees. The Russian tried to finish the job in round 12 with two saves but the loser managed to stay on his feet.
All three judges scored the same, 120-107. Boxing Junkie got the same score.
Bivol fought for the first time this year. He was the consensus 2022 Fighter of the Year after beating Canelo Álvarez and Gilberto Ramírez.
He could face fellow belt holder Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed championship next if Beterbiev beats Callum Smith on January 13.
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Daniel Dubois stopped fellow heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller in the final seconds of a 10-round fight he had dominated.
Dubois (20-2, 18 KOs) used stick-and-move tactics and timely face-to-face exchanges to outlast Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs), who was 94 pounds heavier than the winner.
Dubois got off to a good start, hitting, moving and out-hitting the slower Miller. Miller entered the fourth and fifth rounds, when he landed many of his best punches of the fight.
However, Dubois regained momentum after that and never gave up. The Londoner landed powerful punches almost at will in the second half of the fight, when the 333-pound Miller tired.
It looked like Dubois was destined to win by decision, but a series of counter power shots forced the referee to stop the action. There were only eight seconds left in the fight.
Dubois was coming off a ninth-round knockout loss to unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in August, which put him in a must-win situation on Saturday. And he never looked better.
Miller was in the midst of a comeback after failed drug tests derailed the New Yorker’s career.
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Agit Kabayel stunned fellow heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov, knocking him down three times before the fight was stopped in the fourth round of a scheduled 10-round bout.
The official time of the stop was 2:03.
Kabayel (24-0, 16 KOs) boxed skillfully for two rounds, making it difficult for the industrious Makhmudov (18-1, 17 KOs) to achieve anything.
Then, the German prevailed, launching a series of powerful blows that began to hurt Makhmudov from the third round onwards. Kabayel’s body work was particularly effective.
It was a left to the stomach that forced Makhmudov to the canvas for the first time about a minute into the fourth round. The Russian tried to fight back, but fell again with another body shot 30 seconds later.
Again, Makhudodov got to his feet but a flurry of blows with his back against the ropes convinced the referee that enough was enough.
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Former cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia stopped Ellis Zorro with a massive left hand to the jaw at 2:56 of the first round of a scheduled 12-round fight.
Zorro (17-1, 7 KOs) landed with his head on the bottom rope, where he remained until the referee called off the fight.
The fighters were engaged in an uneventful first round (no significant blows had landed) when Opetaia’s big blow changed everything.
Opetaia, recognized as the top 200-pound fighter, announced during fight week that he had vacated his IBF title because the sanctioning body ordered him to face Mairis Briedis in a rematch.
Opetaia beat Briedis to win his belt in July of last year.
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Heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic knocked out outmatched Mark De Mori at 1:46 of the first round of a scheduled 10-round bout.
Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) knocked down De Mori (41-3-2, 36 KOs) and hurt him with a right hand about a minute into the fight. The Australian was able to get up, but a series of hard and unanswered blows convinced the referee to end the elimination.
Hrgovic is ranked number one by the IBF, meaning he is first in line to challenge for Oleksandr Usyk’s title. Usyk is scheduled to face Tyson Fury on February 17.
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Frank Sanchez knocked out fellow heavyweight contender Junior Fa in the seventh round of a 10-round fight.
The beginning of the end came in the final seconds of the sixth round, when Sánchez (24-0, 17 KOs) dropped Fa (20-3, 11 KOs) with a right hand to the chin.
Another big right hand from the Cuban, followed by a flurry of hard punches, dropped Fa again and hurt him about a minute into the seventh round. The Kiwi was able to get up but fell once again, again with a right hand, with approximately 30 seconds left.
This time the referee stopped the fight, giving Sánchez his fourth consecutive stoppage. The end came with 18 seconds left in the round.
Fa has lost three of his last four fights.
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Former heavyweight champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua fight in separate bouts on a massive pay-per-view card Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Wilder will face another former belt holder, Joseph Parker Jr. And, in the main event, Joshua will face former title challenger Otto Wallin. Wilder and Joshua have agreed to fight each other in March if things go well at Kingdom Arena.
The highlight portion of the show is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT. (main event later in the show).
Also on the card: Dmitry Bivol vs. Lyndon Arthur, light heavyweights (for Bivol’s WBA title); Filip Hrgovic vs. Mark De Mori, heavyweights; Jai Opetaia vs. Ellis Zorro, cruiserweight (for Opetaia’s IBF title); Daniel Dubois vs. Jarrell Miller, heavyweights; Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Agit Kabayel, heavyweights; Frank Sánchez against Junior Fa, heavyweights.
Boxing Junkie will post the results, as well as a brief summary, immediately after each fight ends. Just come back to this post and update when the time comes.
Complete coverage – in-depth fight stories, analysis and more – will be published in separate posts the night of the fight card and the following day.
Enjoy the fights!
