Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua may truly be dead.
The long-awaited heavyweight superfight once again burst into flames on Saturday after Wilder suffered a shocking and lopsided unanimous decision loss at the hands of Joseph Parker in the co-headlining bout of the Day of Reckoning event in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. All three judges scored the contest for the 31-year-old New Zealand native — 118-111, 118-110, and 120-108 — imploding the proposed plans for a Wilder vs. Joshua bout in early 2024.
Check out reaction Wilder’s stunning upset loss below, including commentary from Francis Ngannou and a callout from his representative Marquel Martin.
Licking my lips after watching this fight ️ @RiyadhSeason #BattleOfTheBaddest — Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) December 23, 2023
Safe to say Francis needs to be ranked higher @WBCBoxing https://t.co/LOEKcxQjsa — Time (@Marquel_Martin) December 23, 2023
Here’s what I think. 2 fight deal Joshua vs Ngannou. Saudi then….Africa. You heard it here first. #Maktub. — Time (@Marquel_Martin) December 23, 2023
Has wilder been paid to lose or summat #DayOfReckoning — Jake ‘White Kong’ Hadley (@JakeHadleyMMA) December 23, 2023
Francis kos wilder #DayOfReckoning — Jake ‘White Kong’ Hadley (@JakeHadleyMMA) December 23, 2023
Francis would maul both wilder and Parker #DayOfReckoning — JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) December 23, 2023
HORRIBLE performance by Wilder. I gave him NOT a single round. — Amanda Serrano (@Serranosisters) December 23, 2023
Yoooo boxing can be boring Af sometimes — Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) December 23, 2023
The boxing purists who laughed at the thought of Francis Ngannou beating Deontay Wilder in a boxing match aren’t laughing anymore. pic.twitter.com/aocqpJQY1d — MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) December 23, 2023
Cheehoo Joseph Parker you beauty ! — Justin Tafa (@justin_tafa) December 23, 2023
HUGE upset, Parker shuts out Wilder over 12! — Hasim Rahman Jr. (@_HasimRahmanJr) December 23, 2023
Madness, that after the fury fight I feel like Ngannou does wilder & Parker. That 1 rounds in 2 years has done wilder zero favours! — Jack ‘Tank’ Shore (@jackshoremma) December 23, 2023
Imagine Otto Walking wins next #JoshuaWallin — JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) December 23, 2023
Tyson Fury and Paris Fury celebrating Joseph Parker’s win over Deontay Wilder on Instagram… pic.twitter.com/zl3ZCT6aIV — Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) December 23, 2023