aNthony Joshua should have fought Deontay Wilder six years ago this month. In December 2017, Joshua won the IBF and WBA versions of the world heavyweight title and, after a remarkable victory over Wladimir Klitschko eight months earlier, his record was an impeccable 19-0. He was 27 years old and at the height of his profession. Wilder, with his 38-0 record, including 37 wins by stoppage, was the WBC heavyweight champion and the most imposing knockout dealer in the world.
There was significant risk involved in a unification fight for both men, but they were in their physical and psychological prime as heavyweight champions and would almost certainly have delivered a compelling match. Of course, promotional rivalries, sanctioning body scandals and the unbridled egos of boxing's power brokers meant the fight never happened. It was only this month that both Joshua and Wilder signed contracts to meet in March 2024 in Riyadh. Those postponed plans have now been consigned to the overflowing dump of ruined fighting game dreams.
In the early hours of Sunday morning in Riyadh, Wilder was defeated by Joseph Parker in an embarrassingly one-sided fight. One judge gave each round to Parker and the two other officials were accurate in their scores of 118-111 and 118-110. Wilder, Joshua, their promoters and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which believes that funding boxing could help cover up its appalling human rights record, have all had to rue the harsh reality of heavyweight boxing.
“He lost 120-108 [on one scorecard], he lost every round,” Eddie Hearn said of Wilder just after 3am local time on Sunday. In his role as Joshua's promoter, Hearn laid all the blame on Wilder. “It was the most one-sided heavyweight fight I've seen. Listen, it ruined our plans. The future is not Deontay Wilder. But if someone's going to screw up the plans, I'm very happy for Joseph Parker and… [his trainer] Andy Lee. Top, top guys.”
Hearn was right to praise the admirable Parker, who avoided the threat of Wilder's devastating right hand all night while following his trainer's authoritative strategy. “Was it a shock?” Hearn said before trashing Wilder's reputation. “I don't know, but I've said before that this guy has never beaten an elite heavyweight.”
However, Wilder was an exciting force in boxing. His pinnacle of knockouts may have included a string of journeymen, but so did Joe Louis' “Bum of the Month Club” in the late 1930s and 1940s, when that great world champion devastated the heavyweight division. And Wilder's epic trilogy of fights with Tyson Fury – in which he knocked down the 'Gypsy King' four times – showcased the courage and strength of both men in an unforgettable series of world title fights. Wilder and Fury were made for each other, and they were compelling dance partners, but the price of their rivalry was clear in the way the American looked like a ghost of himself opposite Parker.
Hearn then chose to elevate Joshua to new heights of hyperbole after dominating Otto Wallin, who was saved by his corner at the end of the fifth round in Riyadh. “Anthony Joshua is miles above Deontay Wilder,” Hearn said, even though their proposed showdown in March had been marketed for months as one of boxing's definitive encounters. “I believe this Anthony Joshua is the best heavyweight in the world. That was a perfect performance, an astonishing performance. One that says he's back. With this mentality I think he is unbeatable: 2024 will be huge for him.”
Joshua looked more impressive and focused in the ring than he has in years. Still, Wallin is a limited opponent and before the fight it was clear that the most concerning aspects for those who admire Joshua centered on the uncertain state of his mind. After being knocked out by Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019, whom he then defeated six months later in a very cautious rematch, Joshua lost twice in a row to the much more naturally gifted Oleksandr Usyk, who moved up from cruiserweight to leave him out. to see. a flawed former champion.
Joshua spoke sensibly after the fight when he pointed out that boxing “is a treacherous business. It's like snakes and ladders: one win gets you up the ladder and one win gets you up the ladder [loss] takes you all the way back down.”
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Hearn, of course, has a new plan. In February, Fury and Usyk meet in the first fight for the world heavyweight title since 1999, when Lennox Lewis was the last undisputed champion. But Hearn is betting that the IBF, one of the four main sanctioning bodies, will strip the new champion of his title if he does not agree to an immediate bout with his mandatory competitor, Croatia's Filip Hrgovic. It's likely that Fury and Usyk would prefer a much more lucrative rematch than facing the still relatively obscure Hrgovic.
In Hearn's latest big plan, the way will then be cleared for Joshua to fight Hrgovic for the vacant IBF trinket. “He wants to be a three-time world heavyweight champion,” the promoter said of Joshua. “It will be Filip Hrgovic against AJ for the world title.”
That imagined fight doesn't have the ring of Fury versus Usyk, nor the resonance that Joshua versus Wilder had before Saudi Arabia's much-hyped Judgment Day quashed those plans. Parker, the unknown but lovable New Zealander, simply smiled amid the madness of boxing. “Everyone had different plans, but this is God's plan. I was really fit. I remained calm, relaxed and focused. There are always things to work on, but I got the win. Merry Christmas to us.”