Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker Preview & Picks
Deontay Wilder is tipped to beat Joseph Parker by knockout.
Parker is the more skilled boxer, but he has been floored and he has been knocked out in his career.
That spells trouble against Wilder, who only needs one opening to separate his opponent from consciousness.
- 42 of Deontay Wilder’s 43 wins have come via KO
- 6 of Wilder’s last 10 stoppage wins have come in rounds 7-12
- Joseph Parker has been knocked out once in his career
- Parker’s only knockout defeat came in the 11th round
Deontay Wilder Form
Deontay Wilder is a former world heavyweight champion with a professional record of 43-2-1 (42 KOs).
Wilder blazed his way into world title contention by winning the first 32 fights of his career by knockout.
He finally went the distance when he challenged for the WBC belt in January 2015, but he was able to beat Bermane Stiverne by unanimous decision.
From there he knocked out Eric Molina in the ninth, Johann Duhaupas in the 11th and Artur Szpilka in the ninth, before forcing Chris Arreloa to retire after eight rounds.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ continued to rack up knockout wins after that, as then stopped Gerald Washington in the fifth round before winning his rematch with Stiverne in less than three minutes.
Wilder took his professional record to 40-0 in March 2018 when he stopped Luis Ortiz in the 10th round, setting up a huge clash with Tyson Fury that December.
He was outclassed by Fury for much of the fight, but it was controversially ruled a split decision draw after he twice floored the British fighter late in the contest.
The 38-year-old American went on to stop Dominic Breazeale in the first round and Luis Ortiz – again – in the seventh, setting up a rematch with Fury.
Wilder was again outclassed on the night, but this time he was not rescued by the judges as he was knocked out in the seventh round.
When they two men met again in October 2021, Fury settled the rivalry by knocking out Wilder in the penultimate round.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ bounced back a year later, stopping Robert Helenius in the first round, but he has not fought since.
Joseph Parker Form
Joseph Parker is a former world heavyweight champion with a professional record of 33-3 (23 KOs).
Parker won several minor titles before beating Andy Ruiz Jr via majority decision to win the vacant WBO title.
The 31-year-old New Zealander then went on to make two successful defences, beating Razvan Cojanu by unanimous decision and Hughie Fury by majority decision.
That set up a huge unification clash with WBA (Super), IBF and IBO champion Anthony Joshua, and he came up short on the night as he lost the bout by unanimous decision.
Parker’s stock dropped further as he then lost on points to Dillian Whyte, but he was able to get his career back on track with six consecutive wins.
He stopped Alexander Flores in the third, Alex Leapai in the 10th and Shawndell Winters in the fifth, before beating former amateur rival Junior Fa by unanimous decision.
The Kiwi then had back-to-back fights against British veteran Derek Chisora, beating him by split decision and unanimous decision.
Parker’s win streak earned him a fight with Joe Joyce for the vacanat WBO interim title, but he failed to return home with the gold as he was stopped for the first time in his career in the 11th round.
He has rebounded this year though, winning all three of his fights to stay in the heavyweight title picture.
The former heavyweight champion beat Jack Massey on points, before knockout out Faiga Opeli inside one round and Simon Kean inside three rounds.