Deontay Wilder looks to take a significant step towards a box office clash with Anthony Joshua when he faces Joseph Parker on Saturday night.
The American returned with a bang when he knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round last October, which was his first fight since losing the last of his trilogy with Tyson Fury in 2021. Now, another year on, the self-proclaimed “biggest puncher in boxing” is looking to claw his way back to the top.
That’s much easier said than done in boxing, even more so in the heavyweight division. Joseph Parker has his own plans and would no doubt love to match up against Joshua again, having lost to the Brit back in March 2018 when fighting for the world titles.
It’s going to be a fascinating bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this Saturday night and we’re going to take an in-depth look at each fighter’s chances.
Keeping busy
Parker comes into this having already fought, and won, twice in 2023. The first of those was a points win over 10 rounds against Jack Massey, before a third round KO against Simon Kean in October. Many will be writing Parker off ahead of the bout, but he’s certainly been keeping the busier of the two fighters and could prove to be a little sharper in the ring.
We’ve seen enough of Wilder to know that he’s not going to want this to go the distance. He’s not a particularly skilled boxer and he knows that, which is why his approach of always going for the knockout has proved so effective in his career. He’s taken a fair few knocks up to this point, but only Tyson Fury has managed to KO the American.
Knockout power
The best chance Parker has is to stay on the defence and pick off Wilder as he attacks. This approach will land him points in each round and will infuriate Wilder, who is renowned for his temper and often allows it to cloud his judgement in the ring. The Kiwi doesn’t get many knockouts these days and so he’ll no doubt try to box his way to the win.
It’s the complete opposite for The Bronze Bomber, who knows he has the knockout power to take out any boxer in the world. He’s shown that throughout his career and more recently in his latest fight with Helenius, who didn’t even last a round. It’s worth noting also that it took Anthony Joshua seven rounds to dispatch the same opponent.
Verdict
This is a classic “anyone could win it” heavyweight clash. Wilder is the long odds on favourite, but there’s a chance Parker could hang on and out score him. Tyson Fury laid the blueprint for how to beat the American, mainly by being step perfect on the defence and choosing punches wisely. If it goes to the later rounds, Wilder will tire and that’s when he’s most vulnerable. Of course, a single punch could decide it.
