Joshua or Wilder – Who has the trickier assignment on December 23rd?

Both need to be wary of potential banana skins, as Saudi look to tee up the heavyweight mega fight in 2024

It’s the unexpected early Christmas gift that we didn’t realise we wanted. Whilst it’s not that luxury designer watch, or in this case the heavily rumoured gargantuan heavyweight encounter between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder , it’s also hardly a pair of socks or Lynx body wash gift set.

On December 23rd in Saudi, what is swiftly becoming the new hotspot of big-time boxing, two of the biggest names in the sport will share centre stage, in separate contests, both facing solid top ten opponents, with the aim of teeing up a huge fight between the pair for early next year. Anthony Joshua will square off with the tricky Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin , most famous for inflicting a gruesome gash over Tyson Fury’s eye and pushing him all the way in one of his toughest fights back in 2019, whilst Deontay Wilder will do battle with former Anthony Joshua opponent and former world champion, the always game Joseph Parker .

Considering how quickly this has been put together, boxing fans are rightfully still giddy at the chance to witness these two-star attractions showcase their skills, in what could well be serious tests for the pair. Another eye catching and well-matched heavyweight dust up on the undercard sees the UK power puncher Daniel Dubois lock horns with the undefeated and previously disgraced American Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller. As an overall card, it really does have an unprecedented amount of elite level names. Completing the star-studded line up are run outs for Dimitry Bivol, Jai Opetaia, Arslanbek Makmhudov, Filip Hrgovic and Frank Sanchez in bouts of varying degrees of competitiveness.

Whilst there is slight disappointment that Joshua and Wilder aren’t facing off with eachother, both of their opponents should give us a strong indication of where two of the biggest names in the sport are at in this later stage of their careers. If both come through with impressive victories, it obviously makes the rumoured superfight between the pair even bigger. Unfortunately, the past has informed us that this plan of letting big fights marinate for too long can oftentimes backfire. With this in mind, between Joshua and Wilder, who has the trickier assignment and faces a greater risk of jeopardising the superfight next year?

Anthony Joshua vs Otto Wallin

This an interesting matchup for a number of reasons. The two fighters actually have a bit of history, with Anthony Joshua besting Otto Wallin on two separate occasions back in their amateur days. Since making the switch to the paid ranks, Wallin has gradually been building his reputation as a world level contender, in a starkly different manner to the glitz and glamour of Anthony Joshua’s seesaw relationship with the summit of the heavyweight division.

The 6ft5 swede will be mostly known for his entertaining battle with the lineal heavyweight king Tyson Fury, where he unexpectedly gave him hell over 12 rounds, losing a close points decision. Since then he has gone 6-0, including a couple of solid wins over Dominic Breazeale and most recently Murat Gassiev in an IBF world title eliminator.

Stylistically, Wallin isn’t too dissimilar to the man who bested AJ twice, the unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. A well-schooled boxer and tricky southpaw with a solid chin and good engine over 12 rounds, Wallin has a hefty toolkit which could pose a number of issues for the former Olympic gold medallist. If Joshua really is the gun-shy, mentally scarred, shell of his former self that his cynics claim, there is a very real chance that he could get beat.

Considering the fight with Wilder seems to be all but agreed, you have to give Joshua credit for taking on such an assignment, however there is a large amount of reward to counteract this risk. With Wallin ranked as the IBF number two after his win over Gassiev, victory on December 23rd would put Joshua in a great position to fight for soon to be vacant IBF belt against number one ranked contender Filip Hrgovic. If for some reason the Wilder fight wasn’t to come off, a chance to become three-time heavyweight champion of the world isn’t a bad option to have in his back pocket.

Personally I think this is a clever move for Joshua, with Wallin having sufficient status as a genuine contender that a convincing win will go some way to creeping his stock back somewhere close to its pre-Usyk level. Wallin also isn’t the biggest puncher, with his last five victories all coming via decision.

The Joshua bashing has almost become the on-trend thing to do amongst pundits and fans, and people have too readily forgotten the fighter he once was. Even against Usyk in the second fight, a man widely considered to be a generational talent, he was highly competitive and only lost the fight by two or three rounds.

It certainly won't be an easy nights work, but so long as Joshua does let his hands go, I would expect him to get the job done on points. I believe the Joshua of old, who was so infamous for his brutal combination punching when he had his man hurt, would be able to force a stoppage, so this will give us a good indication as to whether that fighter still exists.

Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker

In terms of options outside of the widely considered ‘big four’ as potential opponents, once again the choice of Joseph Parker is an intriguing one, both stylistically and in terms of the narrative. The former WBO champion is trained by Andy Lee, the man who helped mastermind Tyson Fury’s destruction of Deontay Wilder, assisting head trainer Sugarhill Stewart. Parker is also ‘The Gypsy King’s’ training partner, who may well join the New Zealander in camp again, sharing his wisdom on how best to set about the dynamite fisted ‘Bronze Bomber’.

Joseph Parker has been one of the more active members of the heavyweight world level contingent, with this being his fourth outing of 2023. In those he has gone 3-0 (2KO’s), most recently scoring a solid third round stoppage over Canadian banger Simon Kean. With this he has got some solid momentum behind him after a draining eleventh round stoppage defeat to ‘The Juggernaut’ Joe Joyce in September last year.

Comparatively, the activity of Deontay Wilder could not be more different. His last fight was some 13 months ago, lasting just one round as he scored a signature one punch knockout over ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ Robert Helenius. In the last three years, he has only boxed once more, that being the third instalment of the epic Fury trilogy. There is no doubt about it that this fight will give us a real indication as to how much the former WBC champ has left in the tank at 38 years of age.

Both defeats to Tyson Fury were potentially severely damaging both mentally and physically. The last time Wilder looked impressive was his seventh-round knockout victory over Luis Ortiz, all the way back in 2019, where despite being heavily down on points he was calm and measured, eventually landing a perfectly placed right hand straight down the pipe to level out the crafty Cuban in round seven.

Although the Tusacaloosa hero has had 13 world title fights in his exhilarating career, Luis Ortiz aside it must be said the quality of opposition in the majority of those wins is lacklustre at best. Shockingly, victory over Joseph Parker would actually only be Wilder’s second over a former world champion, the first being the man he won the WBC belt from back in 2015, Bermane Stiverne.

In both fights two and three with Fury, we were also shown a never-before-seen glaring weakness in Wilder’s game. Use your size and make him fight going backwards, disrupting his ability to set himself for his lethal trick of a fight ending right hand, and he really does become half the fighter. Coming in at 6ft4 and some 250lb’s, the big punching New Zealander does have the necessary frame and presence to attempt a similar game plan.

If Wilder is a shot version of the man he was during his WBC title reign, then as with Anthony Joshua against Otto Wallin, there is a very real possibility of an upset.

What may be Parker’s downfall, however, is his own defensive flaws. Whilst he is as game as they come and by no means chinny, he was stopped by Joy Joyce and also dropped twice in his points defeat to Dillian Whyte back in 2018. Even Derek Chisora rocked him on occasion.

Technically, as is the case with most top ten heavyweights, Parker has the edge over Wilder, however I think this is another fight where his right-hand equaliser may bail him out of trouble. Don’t be surprised to see Parker have some success early on and even be ahead on points, before being rendered unconscious in trademark Deontay Wilder fashion.

So who has the trickier assignment?

For the reasons mentioned above, there is a very real element of jeopardy in both of these match ups. If Joshua or Wilder are not at their best, both Wallin and Parker are more than capable of upsetting the apple cart.

That being said, I believe both should come through these tests, eliminating what we hope will be the final hurdle in getting these two heavyweight supremos in the ring together. For me, Anthony Joshua has the slightly trickier assignment to overcome. Wallin is fresh, in good form and has a style which is proven to give AJ problems. Parker, although still a more than worthy opponent, has a few more miles on the clock and unfortunately I don’t believe has the defensive nous to avoid that right hand fight ender which has served Wilder so well over the years.

Fingers crossed both Joshua and Wilder do get the victory and go into next years battle full of confidence and firing on all cylinders, in a fight which promises to be a savage shootout between arguably the two hardest punchers and entertaining fighters in the division. To overlook their adversaries on December 23rd however would be a fools game. Roll on December 23rd, in a night which promises to be a historic night of boxing and tantalising pre-Christmas appetizer.

Article sponsored by HÖRFA