(VIDEOS) Joshua is Back! – Wilder suffers shock defeat to Parker, Joshua beats Wallin
American boxer, Deontay Wilder suffered the third defeat of his professional career as Joseph Parker earned a victory in their world heavyweight fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The former WBC champion, was outclassed throughout with Parker coming out on top of all three scorecards, 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108.
Wilder, 38, had earned the reputation of one of the most feared one-punch knockout specialist of his generation but never looked close to living up to that lofty billing in a hugely disappointing first outing in 14 months with plans for a much-anticipated meeting with Anthony Joshua now surely shelved.
Joshua produced his best performance in years to stop Otto Wallin after five rounds in the co-main event.
Wilder knocked out Robert Helenius inside three minutes in October 2022 but was a shadow of himself at the Kingdom Arena with Parker, a former WBO world champion himself, the consistent aggressor and deserved victor.
“I’m back,” said the New Zealander in the ring as the victory was confirmed.
“We trained very hard for this, we had momentum. I was really fit, stayed calm and relaxed. I focused for every minute of every round. People had plans, but this was God’s plan. Merry Christmas to us.”
