Joseph Parker stunned Deontay Wilder to win by unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia and claim his fourth consecutive win after losing to Joe Joyce last year.
Parker, 31, who was the WBO heavyweight champion from 2016 to 2018, arguably won each of the 12 rounds to upset Wilder – whose proposed bout with Anthony Joshua in 2024 is now in serious jeopardy.
The New Zealand native executed his game plan to perfection to limit Wilder’s strengths, with the judges scoring the fight 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108 in favour of Parker.
Wilder held his fist in the air after the final bell and looked like a man who thought he’d done enough to win despite being outboxed throughout the encounter.
118-111
118-110
120-108Joe Parker has defeated Deontay Wilder on the scorecards! ✍️
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A jubilated Parker told DAZN after his stunning victory:
“Dangerous fight, a tough fit but we trained very hard for this. People had other plans, but this is God’s plan. Today we got the win and Merry Christmas to us!
“Deontay’s got a new coach and maybe he’s applying the new things he’s working on, but maybe inactivity played a part.”
In spite of the result, Wilder believed he did enough to win the fight but gave credit to Parker who did a fantastic job of limiting his effectiveness.
“I did (think I did enough to win) but my timing was off a little bit. He [Parker] did a great job in avoiding a lot of my punches.
“We make no excuses. It was a good fight and we move onto the next thing.”
Some have suggested that Wilder could now move into retirement after the surprising defeat, following a glittering career where he held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020.
Anthony Joshua faces Otto Wallin next on the blockbuster ‘Day of Reckoning’ card and if the Englishman wins, all roads could lead to Tyson Fury.
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