Arguably the most interesting, and possibly the most exciting fight on the stacked card fight fans will be glued to on Saturday, is the heavyweight clash between former champions Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker (although for my money, the Jarrell Miller-Daniel Dubois scrap will prove to be the most fun fight on the night). We know the score with Wilder – he either delivers a KO or he gets KO’d himself. As far as Parker’s credentials, we know he can stick and move, we know he has decent power of his own, and we have seen the New Zealander show a good chin. Parker will need all of this on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
But something that is going for the former WBO heavyweight champ, aside from the fact that Parker is the younger man by seven years, is his recent activity. While former WBC heavyweight boss Wilder has seen a scant couple of minutes of action over the past 14 months, this Wilder’s chilling of Robert Helenius, Parker has boxed three times this year, with the Wilder fight to be his fourth outing of 2023. We will only find out on the night if Wilder is suffering from any ill effects brought on by rust.
As is always the case when a big fight is fast approaching, the folks at Ring Magazine get busy polling a number of boxing experts, asking them who wins the fight and how.
I don’t know if either Parker or Wilder read prediction polls, but if he does here, Parker will see how he is viewed as a big underdog. Of the 19 experts asked their opinion on Saturday’s fight, only one person has sided with Parker. With 18 experts picking Wilder to win, with all but one of them picking him by KO, Parker is widely expected to fall. The sole dissenting voice comes from former Ring Magazine managing editor Tom Gray. Gray, who makes his pick with “trepidation,” goes out on a limb in picking a Parker win via 8th round TKO, and he does so due to Wilder perhaps suffering from “age, wear and tear, inactivity, looking too far ahead, and the fact that he’s up against a durable opponent with a quality brain trust in his corner.”
It is interesting. Parker IS durable (stopped just once, this by Joe Joyce before “The Juggernaut’s” wheels shockingly came off in his next fight). Parker has a great corner, (led by Andy Lee). And Wilder may well be guilty of looking too far ahead, this towards a massive fight with Anthony Joshua. Add it all up, as Gray has, and there is plenty of potential upset material here.
But as we all know, Wilder’s lethal right hand can wipe out anything it connects with, and it seems Wilder will catch Parker at some point in the fight, either early, middle or late. Can Parker, 33-3(23) take the bomb? Most experts doubt it.
It’s tough to go against even a possibly rusty, 38 year old Wilder. We don’t know how much those three wars with Tyson Fury took out of Wilder, but it’s so easy to swing along with the 18 experts who spoke to Ring and gave Wilder, 43-2-1(42) as their pick to win on Saturday.
The one person who feels Wilder will win on points is Diego Morilla. If Wilder did need the three judges to put pen to paper in confirming his win, this would be a pretty big upset all by itself. When did Wilder last win a fight on points?
Pick: Wilder by commanding KO inside six rounds.