A planned 2024 clash between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder is set to fall through after the American suffered a shock loss to Joseph Parker on boxing's big night in Saudi Arabia.
Wilder was completely outplayed in 12 rounds in Riyadh, managing to avoid a knockout until the last gong, but the judges gave the victory to the New Zealander by unanimous decision - 118:111, 118:111, 102:108. The 38-year-old Wilder has been slow and inactive and now has three losses in his last four fights and just one win in his last five, which could see the fan-demanded fight with Joshua fall through the cracks.
At the same time, Joshua showed top form and denied Sweden's Otto Wallin for five rounds. The Brit completely dominated the ring and seriously hurt his opponent before the white towel was thrown from his corner. Thus, within a year, AJ recorded victories over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, regaining his status as one of the best boxers in the heavyweight division, which was shaken by two consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua himself did not rule out the possibility of fighting Wilder next year. "I heard Deontay lost, so what? He's coming back. With everything he talked about me, I could ruin him now, but I won't. If he wants to, he can come back. I'm sure everyone wants to see this fight," said the Briton.
The Saudi Arabian promoters had planned for Wilder to enter the ring after Joshua's victory and announce the much-anticipated clash together, but after the evening, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that his most likely next opponent was Croatia's Filip Hergovic. /BGNES
