Forget Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua. Wilder could end up as an elite fighter.
Joseph Parker did a brilliant job avoiding Wilder’s much-vaunted right hand and was more than enough offensively to win a one-sided decision in a battle of former heavyweight champions Saturday night in Saudi Arabia.
The official scores were 120-108, 118-110 and 118-111. Boxing Junkie scored it 118-110 for Parker, 10 rounds to two.
“Going into this fight, everyone had other plans, but this is God’s plan,” Parker said. “Today, what a victory. Merry Christmas to us.”
Joseph Parker defeats Deontay Wilder, winning by unanimous decision with scores of 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108, improving his record to 34-3.pic.twitter.com/BTzIWjxKcr
— 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓈 (@DiariosJournals) December 23, 2023
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 opportunity to land his much-vaunted right hand that never came. As a result, he let round after round and, ultimately, the fight slip away.
The loser landed just 39 total punches, an average of more than three per round, according to CompuBox. Parker landed 89 punches.
Parker hurt Wilder only once, as a result of a late right hand in the eighth round, but his inability to take him down or knock him out did not prevent him from a dominant performance.
Wilder congratulated Parker afterwards.
“He did a great job avoiding a lot of my punches,” Wilder said. “We are not making excuses tonight. It was a good fight and we moved on to the next thing.”
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.
Meanwhile, 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 last year. That followed back-to-back knockout losses to Tyson Fury, which could have taken something away from the 38-year-old.
Wilder gave mixed messages after the fight, saying he would return but also indicating he is satisfied with what he has achieved.
He and Joshua had agreed to meet in March if things went well on Saturday. Instead of participating in that massive event, Wilder has some things to think about.
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