Plans for an Anthony Joshua Vs. Wilder fight might have gone up in smoke following Deontay Wilder's loss to Joseph Parker, who picked up a dominant victory against Wilder in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The astounding clash between the two boxing heavyweights saw the New Zealand native win by unanimous decision against Wilder, with scores of 118-111, 118-110, and 120-108.
Throughout the fight, Wilder, who was coming off a win against Robert Helenius in 2022, was waiting for an opening to land a knockout blow; however, Parker stayed patient and aggressive in coming from behind and winning each round.
Wilder would continue to look for the knockout strike, but Parker continued in his attack to the inside. This included landing 89 of his 255 punches, many of which were power blows.
Parker would prove to be too much for Wilder, winning rounds as Wilder couldn't find the opening to hit a potential final blow.
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This fight marked Wilder's third loss of his career and his second since his fight in the 2021 clash against Tyson Fury. He was asked about his performance in the fight following the loss to Parker.
"It could have, but we're not going to base it off of that," Wilder said afterward. "We did what we did and we move on to the next. We live to see another day and that's what it's all about" per Yahoo Sports.
Anthony Joshua, who picked up an impressive victory against Otto Wallin on the same card, spoke up on Wilder's loss.
"What? He'll be back. Deontay, everything that he said about me, I could rip him apart right now, but I'm going to take the higher ground," Joshua said via BBC Sports.
He added, "You can come back. If he wanted to, he could come back. I'm sure everyone still wants to see that fight."
Wilder also says that the talk surrounding his potential fight with Joshua might have served as a distraction. Both Joshua and Wilder were set to clash sometime in 2024, despite no contract being signed by either one yet; although the pair was expected to have a post fight interaction to help sell the fight according to BBC Sports.
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