The big Day of Reckoning in Riyadh is here. Fight card (HW only) is below in reverse order of the fights, except the current one is on top until finished.
#4 ANTHONY JOSHUA vs. #20 OTTO WALLIN
Main event is coming up soon. Joshua trying to continue his comeback from his losses to Usyk, and Wallin trying to take a huge step forward in his own career.
- Round 1: Joshua pawing forward, Wallin more defensive at start; Joshua lunges for body shots several times early. Mostly powaing for both fighters but they trade winging attempts at a straight headshot. Lunging jab from Joshua. Wallin lunges in for some rare offense. Clash at end amounts to little. Joshua had all the offensive attempts, Wallin hardly committed even to a jab. Joshua 10-9
- Round 2: DAZN audio is out but that's ok. Both fighters look much more intense to start round 2. Jab from Joshua connects. Wallin holding his ground but reacting more than acting. Trade jabs that barely touch. Body shot from AJ that leaves Wallin stumbling for a second but he's ok. Tactical jab match so far, a few body shots here and there. AJ jabs and Wallin tries to counter, story of this round. Good shot from Joshua. Body shot and he avoids the return. Wallin doesn't look like the confident fighter he claimed to be due to his sports psychologist, I think he was "faking it to make it" Joshua 10-9; 20-18
- Round 3: Joshua good shot to the face of Wallin, who looks slow but he returns a couple of weak jabs to Joshua. Body shot by AJ, whose jab is just more effective so far than Wallin's. Right hand by Joshua hits home. Decent body shot by Wallin. Wallin runs from left and narrowly avoids getting clubbed. Another AJ body shot. Return right by Joshua finds its target late. Wallin is game but is just being outclassed so far. Joshua 10-9; 30-27
- Round 4: Now Wallin is backing up a bit instead of holding his ground. Wallin jab connects. Big clinch. Big right hook from AJ hits Wallin in the face. Wallin whiffs twice. AJ jab. Big right hand blocked. Good exchange. AJ has Wallin in corner, connects with a few shots before break up. Wallin bleeding a bit. Joshua 10-9; 40-36
- Round 5: AJ right to belly button. 1-2 from AJ. Wallin on outside now, near ropes. Return right from Joshua. Another right. Wallin tries something, doesn't work. Not even his jabs are working. Return left from Joshua rocks Wallin, he's on weak legs but probably survives the round with 1 minute left. Huge right from Joshua is blocked but probably hurt. Wallin touches Joshua barely near end, first time he did all round probably. He's in trouble the rest of the way.
Wow, he's really in trouble because they stopped the fight. Wallin has a broken nose or something, whatever it was, he couldn't continue. Not sure who stopped it, Wallin, his corner, the ref or the ring doctor (update: it was his corner who told the ref to stop it)
Anthony Joshua TKO 5 Otto Wallin
I really cringed when they said Wallin was seeing a sports psychologist and was claiming he would win easily. It sounded forced and fake. He wasn't in good mental shape going in I think, he had no focus where Anthony Joshua was completely focused and put on a clinic. Joshua will remain at #4, while Wallin will drop from his #20 peak to outside the top 50 probably.
#9 DEONTAY WILDER vs. #15 JOSEPH PARKER
This is a big one. And a pretty close one, it seems that either Wilder knocks him out or Parker gets a decision. Other than Fury, Parker is probably Wilder's toughest opponent, comparable to Luis Ortiz when he fought him. And Wilder lost most of those rounds but got the KO twice. Parker on the other hand has fought a very tough slate including Joshua, Ruiz, and Joyce among others.
- Round 1: Fighters circling for the first minute; Wilder on the far outside. Nothing in 2 minutes really. Anyone's round. Right from Parker breaks the silence. Do we really give him the round for that? No. 10-10
- Round 2: Hopefully round 2 has more action. Parker goes to the body. Parker wings a big hook and misses. Double jab from Deontay a bit short. Parker does the same to the body. Parker lunges in, shot is blocked. Parker lunges in and goes to body, clinches. Jab from Wilder. Parker a few more jabs to the body. We'll give him that one. Parker 10-9; 20-19
- Round 3: Wilder starts out jabbing more. Parker jumps in and clinches after dodging shot, delivering one of his own maybe. Parker lunges but comes up very short, he started about six feet away. Jab from Wilder. Wilder catches Parker coming in with a body shot. Parker comes in short, gets hit by uppercut, but gets out ok. Wilder gets hit by tough jab. Still pretty even. 10-10; 30-29 Parker
- Round 4: Parker throws a big one and misses, Wilder whiffs with huge one. Parker catches Wilder and the two unload wildly and both connect. It happens again, Wilder gets hit and then returns fire. Parker probably got the best of both, and he comes in again, connects and clinches. Wilder starting the jab going; Parker lunges in again with clinch. Left from Parker, dodges the return fire. Parker does it again, big shot partially rocks Wilder who returns fire but mostly misses. Parker 10-9; 40-38
- Round 5: Jabs from Wilder to body to start round 5; Parker catches Wilder with a right and backs him up, then clinches. Wilder stops Parker from coming in with jab. Parker jabs come up short but a right hand connects. Left from Wilder. Parker backs him up again but shot misses. Parker wins that too; Parker 10-9; 50-47
- Round 6: Jabs from both early. Parker jumps in for another clinch. First half of round is same as first 5 rounds. Parker coming in with overhand right but misses. Another lunge into the ropes. Wilder connects with solid body shot. Parker connects near the end, they exchange in a tight clinch. Closer but still Parker 10-9; 60-56
- Round 7: Wilder still looking for the big one. Parker lunges in again, clinch and wrestling against ropes. Wilder lunges in for attempt at the big one, just misses or slightly connects. Parker stuns Wilder with slugging left, now Wilder coming forward. Big punch wins another round for Parker 10-9; 70-65
- Round 8: Wilder has 5 rounds left to get what he wants. Body shot from Parker. Lunging jab from Wilder. Wilder misses uppercut, Parker connects, then Wilder responds. Jabs back Wilder up. Huge left from Parker who sees blood and goes nuts on him, Wilder getting hit with flurry, trying to clinch. Huge round for Parker 10-9; 80-74
- Round 9: Parker now stalking more, he lunges in with left again. Wilder lets right hand go but misses. Wilder holding his head forward, a bit unsteady. Parker lunges in, the two trade against ropes. Wilder comes forward, doesn't take advantage with right hands. Pretty close round really. 10-10; Parker 90-84
- Round 10: Three rounds left for Wilder, will he have the highlight reel or lose a boring fight? Parker jabs Wilder who didn't take it well. Big whiff by Parker. Huge shot from Wilder but it's blocked. Another shot by Parker rushing in. Parker content to do nothing for a full minute, it only helps him. Jabs from Wilder. Wilder goes for the kill shot but misses badly, then connects slightly with an uppercut. Parker kind of quit on that one, Wilder did'nt do much but maybe won that one. Wilder 10-9; Parker 99-94
- Round 11: Jabs from Wilder early once again. Wilder's shot goes over the top of Parker. Wild shot from Parker whiffs. Wilder's right ducked under by Parker again, Parker's big left is blocked. Clinch with a minute left. Another Wilder miss over the top. Parker infighting uppercut. Wilder moving to center of ring finally. Parker 10-9; 109-103
- Round 12: Last round, Wilder needs a KO. Parker and Wilder start a big scrum early. Wilder finally on the attack, Parker clinches. The two come together, Parker going over the top. Wilder misses on wide looping punch. Cracking sound as both come together at same time. Infighting, Deontay Wilder struggling for one big shot, connects again but not the shot he needs, Parker backs him against the ropes. Final clinch by Parker seals the win. Wilder 10-9; Parker 118-113
The judges will certainly give it to Parker, as wide as 8 rounds, maybe as close as 2 rounds if there's a completely pro-Wilder judge, but if he got even a draw with any judge it would be a shock. Splitting the 3 10-10 rounds our cards are 118-110; 118-113; 115-113 all for Parker
Scorecards: 118-111, 118-110, 120-108 for Parker. So all the close rounds went to Parker, which is not surprising, and one card had an absolute shutout for Parker.
Joseph Parker UD 12 Deontay Wilder
A huge setback for Wilder, who just looked lackadaisical the whole fight, no urgency at all except when Parker hit him. Wilder will fall out of our top 10, probably to just outside the top 20, while Parker will jump into the top 10, probably around #7, close to his highest rank ever (I think he made #6 at one point).
#54 JARRELL MILLER vs. #63 DANIEL DUBOIS
This is a great fight. Miller outweighs Dubois by nearly 100 pounds. Dubois is a better fighter but Miller hits very hard and has a great chin, while Dubois has a rep for quitting on himself. Crossroads fight for both fighters, Miller, still undefeated, is trying to justify his comeback from three separate PED busts. Dubois, with losses to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk, trying to regain his momentum as a contender.
- Round 1: Dubois straight shots to Miller's face and then body. Moving as Miller stalks. Uppercut from Dubois. Miller walking him down but not throwing much. Miller's belt is very high and Dubois warned for hitting low. Dubois throwing with bad intentions but Miller's guard is blocking most of it. First half of round was all Dubois, and good uppercut at end. 10-9 Dubois
- Round 2: Dubois continues pummeling forward, Miller looking to return fire a bit more bu unsuccessful in first minute. Miller trying to get closer to Dubois, pushes at his face in frustration. Uppercuts and hooks from Miller connect a bit. Stiff jab from Dubois actually stops Miller's juggernaut coming forward. Good shots from Miller to the body, and a jab. Jabs from Dubois. Big left from Miller and more from Miller and Dubois returns fire at end! Miller came on at the end but totality of round goes to Dubois again 10-9; 20-18 Dubois
- Round 3: Jab from Dubois. Big scrap, with Miller whiffing a windmill. Dubois connects 4 or 5 times and Miller slows down. Both fighters getting tired. Standing toe to toe now. Uppercut from Dubois. Jabs from Miller just touch but still do damage. Big shots from both but neither really hits. More jabs from Miller and again. Big left clubs Dubois but mostly misses. 10-9 Miller; 29-28 Dubois
- Round 4: Miller still stalking, Dubois punching hard through Miller's guard. Big jab from Dubois. Nothing seems to crack Miller's chin though, whereas Miller's jabs are affecting Dubois. Even first half of round, now Miller coming on a bit as action slows to his preferred level. 1-2 from Miller. Short shots and a big left from Dubois as they stand toe to toe. Dubois not quitting though. Dubois' guard is too low to stop any jabs. 10-9 Miller; 38-38
- Round 5: Dubois digs in for good right hook, unloading on Miller now early. Dubois doing his best early in the rounds before Miller's size starts to affect him. There's an uppercut from Miller, who swings for fences and misses. Miller working the jab again and Dubois keeping hands too low. Now head to head and catch-wrestling for position. Miller outworking him right now but Dubois firing back punch for punch. Miller getting tired. Back and forth round. 10-10; 48-48
- Round 6: Anybody's fight right now. Both fighters working jab and both connecting. 1-2 from Dubois and again. Good work early as usual in first minute. Wrestling starts again. Both fighters getting tired. Miller tired but staying active. Lots thrown but not much connecting flush for either fighter. Dubois wins based on early action, still a close round. Dubois 10-9; 58-57
- Round 7: Miller comes out fast for a change, but Dubois counters and jabs. Announcers think Dubois is "comfortably ahead" I don't know. Miller gets away with measuring. Dubois wins first half of the round but let's see if he can close well. Dubois connects well, takes a glancing blow in return. Miller's shots don't have a lot of power on them the way he's throwing. Body shots at the end, Dubois wins another competitive round. 10-9 Dubois; 68-66
- Round 8: Dubois typical fast start, jabs, uppercuts, movement, through first minute. Miller not able to effectively mount a counteroffensive. Dubois controlling distance well. Warning for Dubois for ducking his head in, 2nd warning for him. Miller uses the break to get a 2nd wind but Dubois avoids it and digs in some right overhands into Miller. Big shots at end by Dubois. First round he dominated. 10-9 Dubois; 78-75
- Round 9: Miller probably does need a KO now, but its Dubois who is landing big shots early. Now head to head and action slows leaning against each other. Good uppercut from Dubois. 1-2 to the body, then up top. Miller's output is low, he can't get into position. Dubois is probably hitting harder than Miller right now, but Miller's chin is iron to this point. Good body shot from Miller is almost his entire output this round. 10-9 Dubois; 88-84
- Round 10: Ok, NOW Dubois is "comfortably ahead" and Miller needs a KO for sure. Dubois back to his jabs and uppercuts, Miller looking like he's going to swing for the fences this round. Miller is tired and too slow, if Dubois keeps his distance he will win but he's getting inside and giving Miller a chance. Miller might be too tired though. Dubois digs in with 1-2 with 1 minute left. 3-shot combo from Dubois, but nothing rocks Miller. Dubois piling it on but he's pretty worn out too. Miller backs up to the ropes and Dubois wants to finish him. He piles on more and more shots and the ref steps in!!
Daniel Dubois TKO 10 Jarrell Miller
Probably a questionable stoppage as Miller was on his feet and there were just seconds left in the fight, but he was taking shots and not throwing back. Miller was more exhausted than anything else. Hopefully that's the end of Miller in HW boxing. But he'll be back for low-level fights for another decade I bet. Dubois will move up to near the top 30 in the SportsRatings ranking, not back to where he once was but better than he's been in a while.
#23 ARSLAN MAKHMUDOV vs. #59 AGIT KABAYEL
I like this fight, and think the odds (10-1 for Makhmudov) are crazy. Both guys are undefeated. It will be Makhmudov's power vs. Kabayel's skill. Kabayel is a big guy too, he only gives up 20 pounds to Makhmudov. Kabayel's most prominent win is over Derek Chisora, another big puncher. Makhmudov beat Carlos Takam, so both have beaten a fighter somewhat similar to each other in size and skill.
- Round 1: Kayabel circling Makhmudov standing in the center. Early feeling out. Makhmudov lunges to punch, Kabayel moves out of the way. Agit returns fire on Mak's jab. He covers up as Mak attacks. Agit jabs to the body and gets back out. Agit ties up Mak to prevent close in fighting. Big shot from Mak whiffs. Mak times Agit lunging in for still right to face as the round ends. Pretty close, both guys did well, I will punt as I often do on the first round. 10-10
- Round 2: Mak wrestles Agit forward into ropes. Mak stumbles forward trying to club Agit. Jab from Kabayel, Mak pressures him into corner. 1-2 from Kabayel, and shot to body. Right to body again. Mak is looking slow but looking for the big shots unlike Kabayel. Mak a bit frustrated and wrestles again. Kabayel 10-9; 20-19
- Round 3: Jab and uppercut by Agit. Punches to the body and avoids return fire. Kabayel starting to find his range, 4 shots 5, Mak stumbles back and is stunned. Mak can't find his punch. Kabayel backs out a bit. Mak whiffs with big shots. Kabayel is on the attack. Big right hand from Agit. Kabayel is dominating this round. Great work. Kabayel 10-9; 30-28
- Round 4: Kabayel continues where he left off, teeing off on Makhmudov. Body shot, uppercut, Makhmudov crumbles to the canvas. He gets up at 8 count. Kabayel smells the win. Mak can only throw big shots in desparation. He crumbles again and it may be over. He gets up at 8 again. Third time down and IT IS OVER.
Agit Kabayel TKO 4 Arslanbek Makhmudov
Great win for Kabayel, whose only problem is his inactivity. Hopefully this jump-starts his career and he gets some great opponents. Kabayel will move up from #59 to nearly the top 20 or so, while Makhmudov will fall out of the top 50. I see this is Makhmudov clearly being exposed in every sense of the word. He can do nothing but club people and his athletic skill is close to zero. He doesn't handle adversity well at all and is just too slow to deal with any quickness from his opponent.
#10 FILIP HRGOVIC vs. Mark De Mori 12
This is maybe the biggest mismatch on the card. De Mori has been fighting mostly guys named Laszlo for the last six years, none of them any good.
- Round 1: Hrgovic standing tall as usual, jabbing. Good left hook from De Mori. Trading occasional strong punches to body. Hrgovic overhand right buckles De Mori, who takes 8 count holding the ropes. De Mori going for broke, swinging big shots. Hrgovic lands big shots but as De Mori turns from them one connects solidly on the back of the head, and ref stops to warn Hrgovic rather than give another count to De Mori. It doesn't matter because Hrgovic continues the pummelling and the ref stops the match.
Filip Hrgovic TKO 1 Mark De Mori
Not the best showcase of Hrgovic's skills, but showed his power I guess. He doesn't gain in our system as De Mori is not rated.
#5 FRANK SANCHEZ vs. #125 JUNIOR FA
It's been about 4 years since Fa's last real win, but Sanchez has hardly been active against top competition lately either. This is another of Sanchez's cupcakes and would be a shocking upset to say the least if the 280-lb Fa can get the W.
- Round 1: Sanchez staying mostly at distance and not doing much, Fa at least looking like he's in the ring for a reason. Sanchez looks asleep compared to the alert-looking Fa, but neither did much of anything. 10-10
- Round 2: Sanchez goes to the body, Fa keeps pawing out the jab but not touching. Maybe once to the body. Another jab from Sanchez to the body, goes to the head now. But he's still far away in general. Fast lunging jab from Sanchez. Good entry from Fa shut down by Sanchez. A bit more work from Sanchez this time, I guess it's enough. 10-9 Sanchez; 20-19
- Round 3: So far Sanchez is acting like he's going up against a top contender. Good start by both in exchange, Sanchez delivered harder blow, but he settles back into conservative mode. It's been a chess-match type of fight so far, which he shouldn't need to do against Fa. Sanchez explodes with a combo counter, brief flash of activity. Stopped for Fa's mouthpiece with 30 seconds left. Nothing happens in the last half-minute. Sanchez 10-9; 30-28.
- Round 4: Sanchez is content to spar this fight away it seems. At least he's taking it seriously. Fa tries a jab-jab-cross and all miss. Simultaneous jabs. Fa comes forward with a jab and right. Lunging jab from Sanchez near the end. Really I can't in good conscience give that one to Sanchez. 10-10; Sanchez 40-38.
- Round 5: This fight could be tied if you gift Fa the dull rounds 1 and 4. Snapping jab from Sanchez. Using a lot of head movement he probably doesn't need. Big shot to the body from Sanchez but he gets in too close and Fa negates any follow-up. Happens again. Fa jabs and gets hit in return. Fa flinching at every feint. But he's the one moving forward a lot of the time. Sanchez tries to enter at end and falls down hard. Another dull round, Sanchez had a few good shots but mostly failed entries. Sanchez 10-9; 50-47.
- Round 6: Somehow Fa is keeping Sanchez at distance. Sanchez does connect with a good right, then more distance. Sanchez gets another right, then Fa jumps in with a strong right hand against the ropes, and after a bit another one, and he might win this round. NOPE! Sanchez connects with just seconds remaining in the round and Fa goes down. Sanchez 10-8; 60-55.
- Round 7: Sanchez isn't coming at him with any more ferocity than in other round, despite rocking Fa at the very end of Round 6. WHOA Sanchez explodes with a great combo that puts Fa down again! Surprised that didn't end it but Fa is up. Two minutes left and now Sanchez is hunting him. Fa doing a good job of running away and clinching. Still a minute left. With 30 second left two hard shots put Fa down again, he gets up but it's waved off.
Frank Sanchez TKO 7 Junior Fa
Kind of seems like Sanchez could have done that in the first few rounds, but he treated it like a sparring session and treated Fa like a dangerous foe, which he really isn't. Sanchez doesn't gain much from this but might move up to #4 depending on what happens with Joshua.
Non-HW fights:
Jai Opetaia vs. Ellis Zorro (cruiserweight)
I guess I'll score this one too. Both are undefeated.
- Round 1: Zorro looks a bit scared in there with Opetaia, who is bounding around while Zorro stands motionless. First half of round goes by with little action, then left hand connects on Zorro. Right from Zorro connects partially. Good shot to body from Opetaia. Zorro connects and at least his corner is happy with it. Uneventful round but with 10 seconds left ZORRO IS OUT.
One-punch KO from Opetaia, a looping left that catches Zorro on the chin and lays him out flat.
Jai Opetaia KO 1 Ellis Zorro
If Opetaia moves up to heavyweight at some point he could be a problem, as he has power and speed. He doesn't look like a big CW so he'd be a very small HW it seems. Though he could probably weight as much as Deontay Wilder pretty easily!
Dmitry Bivol vs. Lyndon Arthur (Light heavyweight)
I'll score this one too, why not.
- Round 1: Herky jerky movements from Arthur, being pressured and backed up by Bivol, who connected with a few good straight hands and left hooks. Arthur didn't do bad unless you count ring generalship, he got a few shots in here and there and kept Bivol off him. Bivol 10-9
- Round 2: Bivol feinting a lot, Arthur reacting, back against the ropes. 1-2 and another 1-2 from Bivol. This is different than the first round, which Bivol used to feel out. Bivol doing more than pressuring now. Arthur throwing less back at him too. Big left to the body. Bivol unloads with 30 seconds left. Pretty dominant round. Bivol 10-9; 20-18
- Round 3: Bivol pressuring less and looking to pick his spots. Arthur clearly worried about what's coming back at him, not jabbing much. Bivol measuring with left and connecting with right multiple times, now a flurry of punches midway through round. Arthur took it well, slipped some, blocked some, got hit by some. Bivol slows workrate considerably after flurry, but Arthur not throwing much. Bivol 10-9; 30-27
- Round 4: Arthur's shoulder roll working pretty well for the most part in the first minute, but Bivol gets through when countering the jab. Hard shot to the body now. Exchange that Bivol gets the better of. Stiff jabs land. Arthur totally focused on defense. Throws the rare jab now and then. Bivol has him in the corner as the round nears an end. Bivol 10-9; 40-36
- Round 5: Two good jabs from Arthur to start the round. Another before Bivol backs him up. Not much contact in the first half of the round, but now they're close and exchanging with Bivol connecting twice before Arthur goes to the body. Stiff jab from Arthur. Arthur blocks a few shots and returns fire. Big shot from Bivol. Another big jab. Not much from Bivol that round, Arthur won most of that round but not by enough to take it. Call it a draw. 10-10; Bivol 50-46
- Round 6: Both fighters very active early, Bivol getting the best of it generally. Jabs and uppercuts from Bivol. Another flurry of activity from Bivol mid-round. Bivol sniping as Arthur plays defense. Big jab connects on Arthur, who gets in a good right. Wrestling against the ropes and the ref separates them. Good variety of punches by Bivol in the last minute. Arthur is tentative and not even finishing his jab. Bivol 10-9; 60-55
- Round 7: Arthur holding his own standing in front of Bivol early, but he's in a big hole. But as the round continues he starts to back up and Bivol takes control with more activity if nothing else. Arthur's defense is respectable, for all the shots Bivol has fired his way, he's doing pretty well. Bivol goes to the body late. Another typical round: small advantage in exchanges adds up to another round for Bivol 10-9; 70-64
- Round 8: After 30 seconds Bivol's punches get through Arthur's guard, still not hurting him but scoring. Heavy body shot to Arthur's right side. Another one. Arthur totally on defense now but he throws a body shot that gets Bivol's attention. Now Arthur might have done something, but Bivol comes back and puts Arthur in the corner. Bivol 10-9; 80-73
- Round 9: Jab after jab from Bivol. Arthur against ropes, clinches. Occasional Bivol shot gets through Arthur's defense, now Bivol has him on the ropes again, trying to go for the kill but Arthur is too sound defensively. Bivol 10-9; 90-82
- Round 10: Bivol shot to body is first big shot of round 10. Lower workrate this round too. Arthur still a low workrate as he is frozen on defense. With minute to go Bivol comes alive and puts Arthur in corner, but after a bit he stops throwing and lets Arthur out. Still wins the round easily. Bivol 10-9; 100-91
- Round 11: Bivol in full control, Arthur still playing good defense, excellent defense in fact, but since he has no offense it's less effective and Bivol gets through now and then. Arthur tries to have a moment of courage but nothing comes of it. Bivol back in control in last minute. Now his workrate explodes and he puts Arthur down in a crouch with flurry of punches including bodyshots to end the round. 10-8 Bivol; 110-99
- Round 12: Bivol gets Arthur against the ropes and unloads for 20 seconds, 30 seconds, finally Arthur clinches. Bivol is probably tired after that flurry, let's see if he acts in the final minute. Arthur has recovered pretty well. 30 seconds left. Bivol starts another flurry but Arthur is game and gets off the ropes. Bivol 10-9; 120-108
I think Arthur will get a round on a card or two, but that's it.
Official cards: all 3 cards are 120-107, so he didn't get a round at all
Dmitry Bivol UD 12 Lyndon Arthur
