Christmas arrived a couple of days early for boxing fans last night after Deontay Wilder returned to the ring to face Joseph Parker as part of a festive fighting feast in Saudi Arabia. The American former WBC heavyweight world champion was part of a double headline event that also saw Britain’s Anthony Joshua take on Otto Wallin in Riyadh.
Although neither fight had a belt on the line there was still plenty at stake. Should both Wilder and Joshua emerge victorious from their respective bouts then the pair were on course to face each other in a big-money final eliminator fight next year that would be used to determine who will be the No. 1 challenger for the world championship belts after Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have settled their unification fight on February 17.
Wilder’s fight was broadcast live to viewers in the UK on Pay Per View by DAZN and TNT Sports, but if you weren’t able to catch the action as it happened or just didn’t want to pay the subscription fee you can still catch a re-run of the main action without spending a penny.
Highlights of Deontay Wilder v Joseph Parker will be available via the TNT Sports YouTube page today. They will also be shown on the DAZN YouTube page as well. A re-run of the main action from Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin can also be found here.
The Riyadh event was titled ‘Day of Reckoning’ and featured an impressive undercard with three championship belts on the line.
British fighter Daniel Dubious was looking to put two previous defeats behind him and get his own world championship ambitions back on track when he faced controversial American Jarrell Miller, who was undefeated in 27 fights.
Dmitry Bivol was defending his WBA light heavyweight title against Lyndon Arthur, while Ellis Zorro was challenging Jai Opetaia for the IBF cruiserweight title.
The European heavyweight title was also on the line, as Agit Kabayel looked to defend his belt against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Day of reckoning full fight card:
Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin – Heavyweight
Deontay Wilder v Joseph Parker – Heavyweight
Dmitry Bivol v Lyndon Arthur – For Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title
Daniel Dubois v Jarrell Miller – Heavyweight
Jai Opetaia v Ellis Zorro – For Opetaia’s IBF cruiserweight title
Filip Hrgovic v Mark de Mori – Heavyweight
Arslanbek Makhmudov v Agit Kabayel – For Kabayel’s European heavyweight title
Frank Sanchez v Junior Fa – Heavyweight