Carl Froch says Deontay Wilder looked weak without power, urgency, and lacking any ambition in his lopsided twelve round unanimous decision defeat against Joseph Parker last Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He suspects that Wilder may retire after this loss.
Froch states that Wilder fought like he was fighting for the first time in his career and didn’t have clue one what to do against former WBO heavyweight champion Parker (34-3, 31 KOs).
Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) looked like he wasn’t willing to take any chances in the fight and forfeited the contest to Parker, a fighter that was feasted on by Joe Joyce last year in an eleventh round knockout.
Deontay made Parker look good, which was not easy because this guy isn’t on the level of the best heavyweights or the mid-range fighters in the top 10.
Powerless punch, ambitionless approach
“Last night against Parker, he looked like he had no ambition, not urgency to his work, and even when he threw that right hand, he looked quite weak. Last night, that punching power was gone, and that ambition was gone,” said Carl Froch to talkSPORT Boxing about Deontay Wilder, who looked weak, frail and scared during his loss to Joseph Parker.
As Froch mentions, Wilder’s power was gone against Parker, as well as his reflexes, speed, and accuracy. When Wilder did land his shots on the button, they showed little of the power that he once had.
Deontay came into the fight weighing a think 213 lbs but didn’t look like someone who had been training. His appearance was more like someone who was living their life, not doing any resistance training.
“He was giving away a couple of stone. He’s not a big guy anyway. He’s just over 15 stone. That’s not very big,” said Froch about Wilder. “Just over 15 stone and 6’6” or whatever it is. He’s a tall, skinny geezer. Where does he generate that power with those chicken legs?
Wilder’s diminished physique suggests that he’s lost his ambition and is no longer interested in the sport. That happens. Fighters lose interest, especially when they become multi-millionaires.
You can’t blame them because, with that kind of money, it’s hard to resist purchasing new things, like cars, houses, expensive clothes, and travel. Your head is no longer in the game.
“I don’t really know, but he punches really hard, and out of every single person, he’s boxed, fought, and won. He’s knocked them out. He’s a full 100% knockout winner. We’ve always said he relies on his power. He’s not very good, he gets outboxed, he’s limited, and he’s not a very technical fighter. Everyone has always said that about him,” said Froch about Deontay.
“To hear him talk after the fight, I really do believe that’s the last we see of Deontay Wilder, which is a shame,” said Froch about Wilder’s career potentially ending and him retiring.
If Wilder stays out of the ring for another year and a half like he did this time, he might as well retire. Deontay will get lousy results again and lose to another heavyweight on the same level as Parker. He’ll then retire.
“He never looked like he was going to land that shot last night,” said George Groves about Wilder.
“He didn’t look like he was going to find a way, did he?” said Froch, agreeing with Groves about Deontay. “He was doing what he usually does, getting outboxed, getting picked apart, looking stiff and rigid on his legs.”
Wilder looked like his punch accuracy was gone, and he didn’t didn’t trust his ability to land. It’s as if Wilder knew that if he threw, he’d miss and be countered by Parker. That wouldn’t have been a big deal if Wilder trusted his ability to take a countershot, but he clearly had no faith in his chin.
“Looking a little bit herky-jerky like he’s never laced a pair of gloves on in his life, but he’s always got that right hand, that equalizer, that big bomb, and he throws it, and it just misses, and you’re always on the edge of your seats, thinking, ‘Is he going to land it?'” said Froch about Deontay.
Parker’s redemption and rise
“The plan was to go in there and be first and show him what I had, and that would make him a bit more cautious, but [trainer] Andy [Lee] said to start strong, and I had the fitness to start strong,” said Joseph Parker to Boxing King Media about his performance last Saturday night against Deontay Wilder.
“Everything aligned, and I felt great in there. It’s nice to change things up. Everyone has an opinion about how the fights going to go, and it just depends on the night. The two fighters come together, and you see who’s going to execute their plan,” said Parker.
It would be a good idea for Parker to keep his feet on the ground and not start thinking he’s gotten better. If his management can get him a big-money fight against Joshua, that would be great, but they need to keep him away from talented fighters like Zhilei Zhang and Jared Anderson or even a rematch with Joe Joyce. He’ll lose to those guys and his career will be finished.
Joseph’s training team did a great job preparing him for this fight, but with the way that Wilder fought, it’s hard to know if Parker has improved since his loss to Joe Joyce.
Wilder wasn’t throwing ANY punches, and that had nothing to do with Parker and everything to do with him not being dialed in. The only way we would know if Parker’s training team did a great job with him if he fought Joyce again or took on one of the good heavyweights like Zhilei Zhang, Jared Anderson, or Frank Sanchez.
“My plan obviously came out on top, and Wilder’s didn’t. That’s how simple it is,” said Parker. “There’s nothing really extraordinary about it. When you have a loss like that [against Joe Joyce], and then I came back and had the fight with [former cruiserweight] Jack Massey and won the fight. It was a terrible performance.
“I had to sit back and look at everything. Look at the camp and what I was doing, and I made a few changes. Andy is the head trainer, and I brought in George Lockett, a nutritionist. I met him through Tyson Fury.
“I feel like since then, everything has been uphill. George and Andy together, I feel like that’s the perfect team.
“I gave him a call after the fight. ‘Thank you very much, Tyson,'” said Parker about him calling Tyson Fury to thank him for the help that he gave him in preparing for Wilder. “He always takes time to give me advice, makes himself available to spar, and gives me the best work.
“He’s the best worker and the champion of the world. He’s a beast, and he’s very happy for me. He sent me texts before the fight, saying, ‘I believe this is your time, and you’re going to take care of business. Believe in yourself. I think we all believe because of the work we’ve done.
“Again, everybody has opinions about how fighters are, but he took the fight and prepared very well, and all week, he was serious about his work. It was great to see him come and deliver what he said he was going to do,” said Parker about Anthony Joshua, who dominated Otto Wallin last Saturday night in the main event of the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Riyadh.
“Too bad for Otto. He put up the best fight he could, but it wasn’t his night. Anyway,” said Parker when asked who he wants to fight next. “I’m not sure. I thought the plans were to have AJ and Wilder fight, and maybe I could have been on the card fighting somebody else, but I think the plans have changed now. So just anyone.”
