Following a shock defeat to Joseph Parker on Saturday, Deontay Wilder has offered his thoughts on the power of his opponent.
Parker seemed extremely close to scoring a knockout win over the former WBC champion, but will be more than satisfied with his dominant points victory.
Wilder went into last weekend’s fight on top of the world, with a long-awaited return to the ring on one of boxing’s greatest cards pending, and a mammoth payday all-but-confirmed for a showdown with heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua.
Things did not go to plan for the American, who was completely outboxed by Parker, losing a wide unanimous decision, and possibly being lucky to make it that far.
Wilder’s preparation for Parker was far from ideal, fighting just one round since his October 2021 defeat to Tyson Fury. That inactivity appeared decisive on the night, with Parker controlling the action from the opening bell and whitewashing ‘The Bronze Bomber’ on one judge’s card in his fourth outing of 2023.
In an interview with 78SPORTSTV, Wilder described the power of the former WBO champion, who had him in serious danger of being stopped in the eighth round of their battle in Riyadh.
“He caught me in a dazing moment. I f***ing zoned out for one minute, I don’t know what the f*** happened. The punch came but it wasn’t nothing that hurt, none of his punches fazed me at all.”
Parker’s win has thrown a serious spanner in the works for the proposed Joshua-Wilder clash and, although Joshua has claimed he would still face his foe, he is now expected to pursue alternative opponents
The obvious choice for Joshua would be Filip Hrgovic, who knocked out Mark De Mori in round one on the same card and holds the position of mandatory challenger with the IBF. If ‘AJ’ faced the Croatian, it could well be for the IBF title, should it be vacated during the aftermath of Fury-Usyk.
What’s next for Parker remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt he’s back at the top table. Wilder has confirmed he will fight on.