Joseph Parker Deontay Wilder Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand's own Joseph Parker heads into his biggest fight in five years this Sunday in Riyadh, as part of the heavily stacked Day Of Reckoning card.
In the opposite corner will be the fearsome American Deontay Wilder, a renowned knockout merchant with a bigger prize on his mind. Apparently, Wilder's people have finally come to an agreement with Anthony Joshua's, with a fight set to take place in March of next year.
How's that going to play into this fight, though? Where will Wilder's head be at after over a year out of the ring, whereas Parker has racked up three victories in the last 11 months. There's both men's histories to consider too, so here's a look at their careers so far:
Parker's carefully managed rise
Joseph Parker v Carlos Takam. Photo: Fiona Goodall/photosport.co.nz
It was apparent from his 66-fight amateur career that Parker was something special, so it wasn't until his sixth fight that he faced someone of real recognition in tough South African Francois Botha. After that his record was bolstered with wins over a series of journeymen before he scored a unanimous decision win over Carlos Takam in 2016, which set him up for an eventual shot at the WBO world title.
The Bronze Bomber
Clemente Russo of Italy (blue) fights Deontay Wilder of the United States (red). Photo: Harry How
Wilder's amateur career took him to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he picked up a bronze medal in the heavyweight division. The man who beat him in the semifinal was Italian Clemente Russo who would also make the gold medal match four years later in London, where he lost to current world title contender Oleksandr Usyk.
Parker becomes world champion
Joseph Parker celebrates after beating Andy Ruiz. Photo: www.photosport.nz
So, this is where things get controversial for Parker. His world championship fight against Mexican American Andy Ruiz Jr at Spark Arena in Auckland has been mired in conjecture ever since Parker lifted the previously vacant WBO belt in 2016, with serious questions over the standard of judging. It is worth remembering that in boxing terms, it's nowhere near the top of dodgy things that have happened in the sport, but it has remained something that Parker's reputation has had to live with ever since.
Wilder becomes world champion
Deontay Wilder knocks out Bermane Stiverne. Photo: Al Bello
Meanwhile, Wilder had gone about racking up 32 wins in a row with 29 knockouts - albeit against fighters of dubious quality. His first big shot came against Haitian Bermane Stiverne for the WBC title in 2015, which resulted in a victory by unanimous decision over 12 rounds and made Wilder the first American heavyweight world champion since Shannon Briggs.
Parker v Joshua
Anthony Joshua celebrates victory after his WBA, IBF, WBO & IBO Heavyweight Championship title fight against Joseph Parker. Photo: Richard Heathcote
Parker's status meant that he was suddenly on the radar for a huge pay day, which came in 2018 against boxing's biggest asset at the time, Anthony Joshua. There is a bit of a parallel to the fight this weekend, as it was thought that Joshua would move on to fight Wilder afterwards, although that never happened. Despite losing a unanimous decision and his title in Cardiff, this was the biggest fight of Parker's career.
Wilder v Fury trilogy
Deontay Wilder (R) is knocked out by Tyson Fury in the 11th round during their WBC heavyweight title fight at T-Mobile Arena on October 09, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Al Bello
Instead of a Joshua v Wilder mega fight, which would have easily been the largest boxing event this century and unified all the major titles, the unbeaten American took on Tyson Fury, who had just returned from a self-imposed exile. Fury wasn't given much of a chance against the hard-hitting Wilder but reignited his career with a stunning draw that led to two more highly memorable fights. Fury won both, which have been the only losses of Wilder's career.
Wilder punches a Burrito
During that time, Wilder appeared on the Spanish language Nación ESPN and delivered a brutal blow to the show's mascot. The straight right was reported to have broken the jaw of the person inside the burrito costume, with Wilder claiming that he "thought there was going to be more cushion".
Back-to-back losses for Parker
Dillian Whyte knocks down Joseph Parker. Photo: Ben Hoskins
Even though he'd achieved plenty by winning a world title and fighting Joshua, there were question marks over what Parker was going to do with the rest of his career afterwards considering he was still only in his 20s. Unfortunately, Dillian Whyte proved to be too tough in his next fight, handing him a second consecutive loss and also the first knockdown of his career.
In from the wilderness
Deontay Wilder makes his grand entrance with the golden mask at MGM Grand Garden Arena on November 23, 2019 in Las Vegas, United States. Photo: MB Media
Parker has spent the years since not exactly in the position he'd want to be, first showing some promise with two wins over veteran Derek Chisora before suffering a loss last year to Joe Joyce. He has been busy though, this fight with Wilder will be his fourth this year although the calibre of men he's beaten means he's still very much outside the top contender picture.
'Busy' is not a claim Wilder can make, though. His last fight was a win, over Robert Helenius, but that was over a year ago. Wilder's previous fight before that was another year before, which was his second loss to Fury.
Joseph Parker and Deontay Wilder face off in Day of Reckoning on 24 December, with the fight due to start between 11am and midday NZT. Live updates will be available on RNZ Sport.
