Former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker closed out 2023 with a bang on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Parker showed that activity matters, with his dominant twelve round decision win over former WBC-king Deontay Wilder.
The New Zealand star was taking part in his fourth bout of the year, while the 38-year-old Wilder had only banked a single round of action since 2021.
Parker’s unexpected victory completely derailed a planned mega-fight, in March 2024, between Wilder and British superstar Anthony Joshua.
“I have a lot of respect for Wilder, but we trained very hard for this. Everyone had other plans, but this is God’s plan. I was really fit. I stayed calm, relaxed, stayed focused. There’s always things to work on but I got the win. Merry Christmas to us,” Parker said.
To prepare for the fight, Parker received advice and training camp support from WBC champion Tyson Fury. The two heavyweights are close friends and share team members like trainer Andy Lee.
Fury faced Wilder on three occasions. They fought to a split draw in 2018, with Fury stopping Wilder in the next two meetings.
During Saturday’s fight, Wilder was very inactive with his offense and seemed to be waiting, round after round, to land a single knockout blow. Even when he did land, Parker was able to take the punches well.
“He did catch me a few times on the guard and it’s very hard. If it landed clean then it could be a different story. Working with Andy and George and not getting out of shape was important,” Parker said.
“This is massive and the best opponent I’ve ever faced. Tyson Fury gave us his time with sparring and was massively important.”