Deontay Wilder will return on December 23rd in a tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The American has not boxed for over a year but will finally return to the ring. His opponent will immediately be a very cool boxer – New Zealander Joseph Parker.

The clash between the two former world champions could indeed end at any time. They both hold up well and hit even better, so you should definitely expect to get knocked down and possibly knocked out.

Wilder returns with a dangerous fight. Parker put in a super strong performance in the last fight

Deontay Wilder has spoken out after losing yet again to Tyson Fury, promising more than he ever did in boxing. Even if we take into account that there was only one fight.

In 2022, more than a year after his loss to Fury, Deontay finally stepped into the ring and immediately met Robert Helenius. On the one hand, a famous name and everything is serious. On the other hand, everyone understood that Helenius would certainly fall from heavy blows and that no greatness would allow him to somehow absorb these blows.

Thus the conflict ended quickly. This right hand aimed at the Finnish athlete was perhaps Wilder’s first serious blow. Deontay has proven to himself that he can still take down big opponents and Fury getting back to his feet was nothing but success for the Briton. But nothing more, because knocking out Robert is not as big an achievement as the American would like.

They then negotiated for a year. With everyone in the world, but especially with Andy Ruiz Jr. Andy was also going to come back after the victory and he had to do it in the fight against Wilder. Literally “Should Have Been” because the WBC had ordered this fight. The winner would become the challenger for the belt.

The teams were never able to reach an agreement. According to Deontay, Andy’s team wanted too much money and thought too highly of themselves. Although Wilder has also been accused of this by Eddie Hearn, someone who has no special relationship with him. According to the promoter, Deontay could have boxed twice this year, but he didn’t want to because 2-3 million was too small a fee for him.

Thus Wilder’s downtime continued for more than a year. Unlike Parker. Joseph has already had three fights in 2023 alone, the bout against Deontay will be his fourth.

Of course, there are question marks regarding the level of opposition. Jack Massey went down first, and it’s Parker’s toughest fight of the year. Jack turned out to be awkward and uncomfortable to fight due to his size. Next is Faiga Opelu. This opponent fell quickly – already in the first round. But we shouldn’t have expected anything else.

Third is Simon Keane. Although he has no name, he is a good boxer from Canada. He certainly has the size and physical strength to trade for Parker; That’s what I thought before the fight. But skills are still not enough. And this, as expected, had negative consequences.

Parker looked great. Physically prepared, calm, balanced and with an accurate shot. Keane tried to box as usual but only managed to lose early in the third round. Neither size nor large biceps helped. Nothing came of this.

However, it is really difficult to expect anything concrete from Joseph. It has always been this way. Very good fight against Anthony Joshua in England. And then a mediocre performance against Dillian Whyte where the New Zealander looked like he didn’t really want to box.

Same fights against Junior Fa and Dereck Chisora. Next to Fa, Parker looked very sad and limited. He lost completely in the first fight against Derek – Chisora ​​​​was more active, more accurate and did more. In the rematch, Joseph put up an excellent fight and naturally won.

So it’s hard to say how he’ll do in the ring against Deontay Wilder. If he is really active and attentive, as he was against Simon Keane, he will certainly be much more interesting in the ring than under other circumstances. And it’s guaranteed to be unsafe for Deontay. Like in the first fight against Fa or against Chisora ​​or against Jack Massey, Joseph will not be able to stay in the ring for long.

Who is the favorite?

Deontay has the advantage over Wallin by an even bigger margin than Joshua. If the bets are from 1 to 3, then here it is from 1 to 5. As for the fight between Wilder and the former world champion, it’s not very fair.

There are other objective factors as well. For example, age. Wilder is 38 years old, while Parker is only 31 years old. Deontay considers himself young; he said this in one of his interviews. But frankly, 38 is nearing the end of a heavyweight’s career. Moreover, after two early defeats where your opponent robbed you of all your strength. But 31 are the best years in the career of a heavyweight representative.

All other factors are on Wilder’s side. He is taller and has longer arms. The first indicator is eight centimeters, the second is better by eighteen centimeters. There will definitely be a time and place for Deontay to step up his strike. The question is whether he will deliver. But Wilder also throws a good uppercut and side kick from mid-range, which instantly increases his abilities against such an opponent.

What does Joseph Parker have to offer? Some variations of Tyson Fury’s boxing. They have been friends for a long time, they communicate together, so they will find a common language in preparing for America.

You have to get closer to Deontay, torment him with punches, not let him throw punches and hit himself. Short and accurate, Parker hits the ball well. He may approach unexpectedly and be shot, and thus the fight will no longer continue. The main risk in such situations is to encounter Wilder’s blow and fly away for a long time. This is the case when a single blow is really enough.

And the most interesting thing is that both can fall. Both Wilder and Parker had already fallen multiple times during their careers. At the same time, it cannot be said that this or that boxer is in bad shape. Deontay got back to his feet after multiple blows from Fury, suffering more from a loss of power than a knockout blow. Parker fell brutally from Joe Joyce, but the effect of the accumulated missed blows worked here too.

So, there will definitely be takedowns, but you’ll have to really try to take down your opponent.

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