Former two division world champion Carl Frampton was disappointed with the recent performance from heavyweight Deontay Wilder.
Last Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Wilder was outboxed and outworked over twelve rounds by fellow former world champion Joseph Parker, who walked away with a lopsided unanimous decision win.
The judges scored the fight 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108.
Wilder was a huge favorite in the fight. There were already plans in place for Wilder to face Anthony Joshua in a long-awaited grudge match, with their clash being pegged for a March date in Saudi Arabia.
Parker stuck to his game plan for the entire contest. He was able to keep Wilder on the backfoot for the majority of the fight, and he was able to avoid most of the incoming punches.
Wilder never let his hands go – until the twelfth and final round, when he took the fight to Parker, but it was already too late to change the outcome.
Frampton felt it was a big mistake to start widespread discussion of Joshua vs. Wilder before the two former beltholders were successful in their respective fights.
“[Parker] was composed throughout, and he was very good technically,” Frampton told TNT Sports. “I thought it was a fantastic performance from Joseph Parker, but a really poor performance from Deontay Wilder.
“There was zero urgency in the fight and there didn’t seem to be any urgency in him until the twelfth round, and by then, it was too late. One judge didn’t give him a single round, and if any did, it was one or two rounds max.
“Joe is right amongst it again and I always thought it was a mistake to talk about AJ-Wilder, which I doubt is going to happen, but Parker is back in the mix.”