Parker stuns Wilder by decison, spoils Joshua fight

Joseph Parker authored one of the biggest upsets of the year Saturday, defeating former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder via unanimous decision (118-111, 118-110, 120-108) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

One of three judges scored all 12 rounds in Parker's favor.

The victory likely ruins the blockbuster matchup between Wilder and Anthony Joshua, who agreed to terms earlier this month for a March 9 fight in Saudi Arabia.

The deal was reportedly contingent on Wilder beating Parker and Joshua beating Otto Wallin at the event.

"Everyone had plans. Other plans," Parker said after the biggest win of his career. "But this is God's plan."

Wilder admitted the Joshua fight being in the works served as "a little bit" of a distraction ahead of Saturday's matchup against Parker. However, Wilder said he thought he did enough to secure the judges' nod and that it was a "great fight."

"There's a lot of talk about different things," Wilder said of the Joshua negotiations. "But we make no excuses."

Parker deployed a terrific game plan to dominate Wilder. The New Zealander pressured the former champion and stayed much busier, topping him 89-39 in total punches.

Parker badly wobbled Wilder with a looping right hand late in the eighth round and rushed him with a barrage of shots. Wilder, against the ropes, fought back and survived.

With the victory, Parker improves to 34-3 as a professional and has now won four straight. The 31-year-old is the former WBO heavyweight champion from 2016-18.

Wilder suffered a defeat for the first time in his career against someone other than current WBC champ Tyson Fury. The 38-year-old was coming off a first-round knockout win over Robert Helenius in October 2022 and is now 1-3 in his last four outings.