The Day of Reckoning, was the billing of a professional boxing event. While the fight card consists of eight fights, two heavyweight fights serve as co-main events. The first, Anthony Joshua vs Otto Wallin was contested between English former WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Swedish WBA inter-continental heavyweight champion Otto Wallin. The second, Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker, was contested between American former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and New Zealand IBF and WBO inter-continental heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
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| Date | 23 December 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joshua defeated Wallin via 6th-round corner retirement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBO Inter-Continental and vacant WBC International heavyweight titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parker defeated Wilder via UD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The event took place on 23 December 2023 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Background and build up
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In October 2023, it was reported that a bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk was being targeted for 23 December in Saudi Arabia with Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder serving as the co-feature.[3]
On 25 October, it was announced that Fury and Uysk was signed for 23 December.[4] On 27 October, Fury fought and defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou which resulted in the bout with Usyk to be postponed due to the injuries Fury sustained.[5]
On 11 November, reports began to state that Joshua and Wilder could be fighting on the same card on 23 December.[6] On 15 November, it was officially announced that Joshua would face Otto Wallin and Wilder would face Joseph Parker on 23 December in Riyadh with a launch press conference in London.[7]
The bill featured the number one ranked heavyweight contenders from all four main boxing sanctioning bodies Deontay Wilder (WBC/WBA), Filip Hrgović (IBF) and Anthony Joshua (WBO).
The fights
Undercard
Former world title challenger Daniel Dubois (WBC:14th WBA:7th IBF/WBO:8th) scored a dramatic stoppage of previously undefeated Jarrell Miller (WBA:6th) with only 10 seconds left in the final round.[8] WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol won a wide points victory over IBO titleholder (and WBA No. 8 ranked) Lyndon Arthur.
Wilder vs Parker
Wilder entered the ring having boxed just three minutes in the past two years, whereas Parker had fought three times already in 2023. Parker came forward with bursts and was generally the busier and more accurate boxer. At the end of 8th round an overhand right from Parker put Wilder in trouble before he was saved by the bell. Wilder failed to trouble Parker throughout the rest of the bout and after 12 rounds two of the judges scored it 118-110 and the third 120-108 all for Joseph Parker.
Speaking to TNT Sports in the aftermath Eddie Hearn said "Wilder had no idea, no clue. He lost every round. He had his hand up telling the referees he won the fight. He's not right. That's the reality. It was the most one-sided heavyweight fight I've ever seen. It's ruined our plans. We've got to go let Anthony Joshua know Wilder lost to Parker."
Joshua vs Wallin
Joshua put on a dominant performance in his first bout with new trainer Ben Davidson. He hurt Wallin with a hard left hook in the 5th, leading to Wallin's corner to put him out in-between rounds.[9]
Aftermath
With Wilder's one sided defeat, plans for a showdown with Joshua were dropped and speculation moved towards a bout with either Filip Hrgović or Zhilei Zhang.[10]
Fight card
| Weight class | vs | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Card (PPV) | |||||||||
| Heavyweight | Anthony Joshua | def. | Otto Wallin | RTD | 5 (12) | 3:00 | |||
| Heavyweight | Joseph Parker | def. | Deontay Wilder | UD | 12 | ||||
| Light heavyweight | Dmitry Bivol (c) | def. | Lyndon Arthur (c) | UD | 12 | Note 1 | |||
| Heavyweight | Daniel Dubois | def. | Jarrell Miller | TKO | 10 (10) | 2:52 | |||
| Heavyweight | Agit Kabayel | def. | Arslanbek Makhmudov | TKO | 4 (10) | 2:03 | |||
| Cruiserweight | Jai Opetaia (c) | def. | Ellis Zorro | KO | 1 (12) | 2:56 | Note 2 | ||
| Heavyweight | Filip Hrgović | def. | Mark de Mori | TKO | 1 (10) | 1:46 | |||
| Heavyweight | Frank Sánchez | def. | Junior Fa | TKO | 7 (10) | 2:42 | |||
^Note 1 For WBA (Super) and IBO light-heavyweight titles
^Note 2 For The Ring cruiserweight title
Broadcasting
The event was available on PPV, via DAZN globally (including UK and Ireland).
In the UK and Ireland, the PPV was also available on TNT Sports Box Office.