Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder headlined the Day of Reckoning card in the early hours of Sunday morning (Nigerian time). Former two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua faced Otto Wallin in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while former WBC title holder Wilder met another former heavyweight champion, Joseph Parker.
Anthony Joshua made a huge statement by breaking down his opponent Otto Wallin for a spectacular fifth-round stoppage cruising to a remarkable win against a tricky opponent.
Joshua was back to his aggressive best in the opening two rounds stepping in with right hands. He was focused and powerful and lived up to the expectations of new trainer Ben Davison with his counters and he overpowered the Swede with the right-hand and left-hook combinations.
Joshua weighed Wallin down round after round with power shots, dominating from the start, alternating with mainly right hands to the head between spearing body punches.
This was the best Joshua has looked for a very long time. With a minute to go in the fifth, Wallin was hit by a combination from Joshua and staggered across the ring, and the British-Nigerian patiently picked apart the busted face and body of the Swede.
As Wallin went back to his stool, his team called referee Steve Gray over to end the fight. The perfect stoppage. The fight had been punched out of Wallin, Joshua proving all his doubters wrong in the process and announcing himself once again as a pivotal figure in the heavyweight Super League in Saudi Arabia.
A few minor adjustments under Davison seem to have made a huge difference for Joshua.
At 38, Deontay Wilder looked his age and lacked all of his usual menace against Joseph Parker who implemented a cool, calculated, calm game plan to shut out the dangerous American puncher.
Wilder’s timing was poor with Parker ducking under his dangerous right hand all night long. This was Parker performing at his peak.
Parker kept shocking the crowd as he beat Wilder down round after round and nearly ended the bout in the eighth round thanks to an assault in which the Alabama knockout artist was saved by the bell.
In the ninth, one of Wilder’s best rounds, he recovered, but even as he pushed hard to find the equaliser, it was never there.
Parker won by a landslide 118-111, 118-110,, and 120-108 on the judges’ cards.
The WBA light-heavyweight world title contest involving Manchester’s Lyndon Arthur against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in champion Dmitry Bivol in any weight division was a display of supreme skills between the champion and the challenger.
It was a great opportunity for Arthur to showcase his skills on the big stage and he did, but Bivol was completely efficient both in punching and footwork, outboxed the Briton round after round to retain his 175lb world title by a wide points decision for an 11th time.
Arthur hit the Asian with some punches to the body in the eighth and ninth rounds, but took a knee from a body shot in the eleventh round, on the bell, and had to survive a torrid last three minutes.
Bivol won 120-107 on all three judges’ cards, winning every round with one knockdown.
It was a huge, dramatic 10th-round stoppage victory for Daniel Dubois against the very formidable Jarrell Miller. A heavyweight boxing dogfight at its best.
The defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and Joe Joyce are now consigned to the past as Dubois showed great heart and went to the well and still had plenty in reserve after.
Dubois stopping Miller is a major statement for the Brit as there was no lack of desire and heart in him tonight. He proved that he had opened the gateway to be in huge fights again.
