New Zealander Joseph Parker has stunned the world at the ‘Day of Reckoning’ boxing card in Saudi Arabia with a dominant win over former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
Wilder came into the fight as a massive favourite, with many believing a win over Parker would propel him into a mega clash with fellow heavyweight contender Anthony Joshua in 2024.
However, Wilder’s one-punch knockout power abandoned him in the early stages as Parker began to pick apart the 38-year-old.
Despite coming close to an early stoppage on a handful of occasions, Parker wasn’t able to land the knockout blow but looked to have done more than enough when the fight went to the judge's scorecard.
Parker secured the victory emphatically, with two judges awarding him a 118-110 victory whilst one judge gave him a 120-108 win.
"A lot of respect to Wilder. Dangerous fight. Tough fight, but we trained for this" Parker told DAZN ringside after the fight.
"A lot of people had plans, other plans, but this is God's plan.”
Wilder, who boasts just three losses from his 45-fight career, admitted it wasn’t his night but gave credit to his Kiwi counterpart.
“(My timing was) a little bit off,” Wilder told DAZN ringside after the fight.
“He did a great job avoiding my punches. We make no excuses tonight. It was a good fight.”
On the same card, Aussie Jai Opataia delivered a stunning first-round knockout of Ellis Zorro to retain his Ring Magazine belt.