The much-anticipated boxing match between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua may not happen after Wilder’s surprising loss to Joseph Parker at the Day of Reckoning event in Saudi Arabia.
Well, it looks like the Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua showdown might be off the table. For real this time.
Over the weekend, the much-anticipated heavyweight superfight went up in smoke. Wilder suffered a shocking and one-sided loss to Joseph Parker. This happened at the co-headlining bout of the Day of Reckoning event in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.
The judges? They were unanimous. All three scored in favor of the 31-year-old New Zealander. The scores were 118-111, 118-110, and 120-108. This unexpected turn of events has blown up the proposed plans for a Wilder vs. Joshua bout in early 2024.
Reactions to Wilder’s stunning upset loss are flooding in. Francis Ngannou has chimed in, and Marquel Martin, his representative, has issued a callout.
Marquel Martin tweeted, “Here’s what I think. 2 fight deal Joshua vs Ngannou. Saudi then….Africa. You heard it here first. #Maktub.”
Amanda Serrano was harsh in her assessment. She tweeted, “HORRIBLE performance by Wilder. I gave him NOT a single round.”
Billy Quarantillo‘s tweet was less about the fight and more about the sport. He said, “Yoooo boxing can be boring Af sometimes.”
MMA History Today made an interesting observation. They tweeted, “The boxing purists who laughed at the thought of Francis Ngannou beating Deontay Wilder in a boxing match aren’t laughing anymore.”
Hasim Rahman Jr. summed up the fight in his tweet, “HUGE upset, Parker shuts out Wilder over 12!”
Jack ‘Tank’ Shore added his two cents, “Madness, that after the fury fight I feel like Ngannou does wilder & Parker. That 1 rounds in 2 years has done wilder zero favours!”