DEONTAY WILDER VS JOSEPH PARKER - FULL PREVIEW
Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker are both primed and ready to fly into an intriguing battle of two very contrasting styles.
How it plays out, well, I think the boxing world seems to be in agreement. This fight must follow one path, and that path ends with Parker staring starry-eyed into the Saudi night sky.
Yet having had just three fights in nearly four years, all whilst battling with his own boxing sanity, Wilder’s boxing return might not be the walk in the park many believe it will.
Even Parker - whilst he might not admit it publicly - will know that this Wilder is by far the most vulnerable version for many years.
Parker should want to try and lay down some rules early. Maybe tag Wilder and check the response. Perhaps let one of his wild bombs go whistling wildly by as he ducks and weaves.
I do firmly believe we are now past the stage of fighters trying to ‘expose’ Wilder. Anyone who has paid attention to any part of his 15-year career knows he has a severely limited skill-set.
But it is, of course, that trigger. The one that, when pulled, has devastating consequences.
As the shorter fighter by quite some inches, Parker could well end up a moving target behind Wilder’s groping left jab, just waiting for the inevitable dynamite moment.
That isn’t to say that shorter fighters haven’t had any success at all against Wilder.
In his second fight with Luis Ortiz, Wilder was losing virtually every second of the fight. Even Gerald Washington managed to make him chase a few rusty old shadows.
Of course, there is a lot to be said about how Parker stands up in a real test after his brutal war with Joe Joyce just 15 months ago.
Sure, he has had three fights since, but his one-sided pummelling of Jack Massey, first round knockout of Faiga Opelu, and beatdown of Simon Kean are, with all due respect, not the finest indicators.
If he and his chin are to hold up, then a compact, punches-in-bunches, and light on the feet Parker could without doubt pinch rounds against a fighter like Wilder.
But as we know, he will have to avoid that big, bronze nuke.
Oscar Bevis