Heavyweight Deontay Wilder says he’s ready to “punish” his opponent Joseph Parker, and he can’t wait until they meet on December 23rd on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Wilder, 38, needs a victory over Parker to face Anthony Joshua in a mega-fight on March 9th in a clash that will earn both of them a lot of money.
There’s massive pressure on Deontay & Joshua to win their fights on December 23rd so that they can meet in March. Joshua faces Otto Wallin in the main event on that card, and that’s far from a gimme for AJ.
Deontay still bitter
The former WBC champion Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) says Parker (33-3, 23 KOs) ran from him six years ago when the two fighters held world titles in 2017, and he chose not to face him.
Deontay thinks that Parker got scared after he saw him knockout Gerald Washington. Parker then quickly lost his WBO title to Anthony Joshua in 2018, and his career hasn’t been the same since.
Parker has struggled since 2018, losing to journeyman Dillian Whyte and stopped by Joe Joyce in 2022. The New Zealander Parker’s career hasn’t been the same since losing to AJ & Whyte in back-to-back fights in 2018, and the only time he’s done well is when he’s faced second-tier opposition, which he’s used as confidence-builder type of fights over the last five years.
Parker’s wins since 2018:
– Simon Kean
– Faiga Opelu
– Jack Massey
– Dereck Chisora x 2
– Junior Fa
– Shawndell Winters
– Alex Leapai
– Alexander Flores
As you can see, Parker hasn’t challenged himself to face quality opposition since his losses to Whyte & Joshua, and he’s wrecked his once-promising career.
Luckily for him, the Saudis are giving him this opportunity for a nice payday as the opponent for Deontay. It’s unclear how much money Parker will be getting for this fight, but it’s likely a lot, more than he’s made since his fight with Joshua in 2018, and perhaps even more than that.
Recently, Parker has turned things around, winning his last three fights against lower-level heavyweights to get him to this point where he’s getting a nice payday opportunity against Deontay.
“Joseph Parker ran from me because he saw what I did to Gerald Washington [in February 2017]. He saw the performance I had in knocking Gerald Washington out, and he fled,” said Deontay Wilder to the media on why a unification fight never took place with former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker six years ago in 2017 when the two held world titles.
“Many times, I was supposed to unify the division many years ago if I had the opportunity, but unfortunately, no one has given me the opportunity like I’ve given other fighters to fight. It’s just sad because I’ve got a blessing and a curse,” said Wilder.
It doesn’t matter that Wilder never fought Parker, because his own career took a nosedive when he fought Tyson Fury, and lost two of them.
Wilder used the wrong game plan by standing in front of Fury, who mauled him, leaning his 270+ lb weight on his slender frame and hitting him with rabbit punches repeatedly. In hindsight, Wilder should have prepared better, staying on the move, and fighting fire with fire when Fury started fouling with rabbit shots.
“Here we are again. A lot of great things are happening, a lot of doors are opening, and a lot of opportunities are looming around, and kick this thing off. I’m looking forward to the ‘Day of Reckoning against Joseph Parker awhile back, but he ran,“ Deontay continued.
Wilder confident Joshua fight happens
“I don’t know how he built the courage up now, but I’m glad he’s here because I’m going to punish him. I’m looking forward to fighting him. I can’t wait for it to happen. It won’t be long now,” said Wilder.
It’s a fair bet that Parker will use the same tactics that Fury did by grabbing & mauling Wilder to exhaust him and tire out his slender pipestem legs to take away his right-hand power.
We could also see Parker using rabbit punches the way Fury did to stun Wilder. Referees rarely lift a finger to police rabbit punching, and when they do, it’s often too late. The fighter is out of it and can’t recover.
“I can’t put a percentage on it, but I know it’s high,” said Wilder on how certain he is that he’ll be fighting Anthony Joshua next if the two are victorious in their respective fights on December 23rd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I can only go off what I’m hearing, but it looks great,” Deontay continued about him & Joshua potentially fighting on March 9th in a mega-fight in Saudi Arabia. “Right now, we’ve both got a job to do on December 23rd. His is with Otto Wallin, and mine is with Joseph [Parker].”
There’s no guesswork involved. The Joshua vs. Wilder fight will take place if they both win their fights on December 23rd, but it’s questionable whether they both will.
Both of them are old & past it, and Joshua looks mentally fragmented, looking like a person trying to find himself since things fell apart for him in his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019.
“We must handle that business and get it out of the way. I’m seriously focused on Joseph, and I know he’s [Joshua] seriously focused on Otto Wallin,” said Wilder.
Deontay will try to use the 31-year-old Parker as kindling to get the fire going in his furnace to ramp up the energy to face Joshua in March. It would be a good idea for Parker to get the killer instinct missing his entire career if he wants to avoid getting stamped out by Deontay.
“Once that’s over with, great things are happening. Nothing but great things from this point on. I can tell the fans to look forward to great and wonderful things from this point on and as the years unfold,” said Wilder.
The fallen king, Joshua must do his part by defeating the upset-minded Wallin for him to finally get the opportunity to fight Deontay for a boatload of money.
