The star-studded roster of the fight show
On December 23, the Saudi billionaires had hoped to organize a grand fight show that would bring together Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, as well as Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. What at first sounded like the fantasy of a deranged fan turned out to be very close to reality, and Fury vs. Usika will indeed fight, but in the spring. Joshua and Wilder did not immediately agree to the fight, but did not give up the idea.
The Saudi Arabian investors did not throw the planned date to the wind and began to spend millions of dollars in other directions, putting together a unique fight night, the average level of talent of which is probably the highest that has been seen in professional boxing events of the 21st century. Although missing one truly huge main event, the program is packed with boxers from two long-time rivals, promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren – this fight show’s media event was the first time the two promoters have finally shaken hands.
If it is usually possible to attract people’s interest only to the main fight of the evening, while everything that happens before is perceived as waiting time, then on the night of “Day of Reckoning” fights, almost every fight can potentially turn out to be the nail of the night.
Eight fights are planned – four of them will feature “Top10” heavyweights (according to “The Ring” ranking), namely Joshua (2nd), Wilder (3rd), Parker (5th), Hrgovic (6th), Sanchez (9th) .), Valine (10.). There will be two more fights, both of which will feature high-level heavyweights, namely DuBois, who recently fought against Usiku, against Jarrell Miller, a boxer serving a sentence for doping, and Mahmudov against Kabajela (both “Top 30” world boxers according to the “BoxRec” ranking).
And if this company is not enough for someone, the first numbers of two weight categories have also arrived in Riyadh. Dmitri Bivol, the light heavyweight champion who defeated Canelo Alvarez a year ago, will defend his WBA title against Britain’s Lyndon Arthur, while Australian Jay Opetaia, the world number one cruiserweight, will fight another Briton, Ellis Zorro. Opetaia will do it without the IBF champion title, as he would have had to fight the mandatory contender Mairi Briedis first, but Briedis is not ready for the fight at the moment, and Opetaia chose to wait.
Joshua vs. Valina – how tough will the Swede prove to be?
This will be Anthony Joshua’s third fight this year. In April, he defeated Jermaine Franklin on points, and in August he knocked out Finnish Robert Helenius, who agreed to the fight at the last moment, replacing Dillian Whyte, who received a positive doping analysis. Now he will face Oto Valin, who can be considered Joshua’s biggest test since the fight against Usik.
Joshua is a global star, but he has no shortage of critics who decry his lack of psychological fortitude and question his ability against the very best boxers. The fact that there is a lot of public pressure on Joshua was also acknowledged by his competitor Deontay Wilder, who said at a media event that a lot is being demanded of Joshua. Joshua himself has been quiet and withdrawn at media events this week, saying he’s only thinking about the fight.
His opponent Oto Valīns, who fought five years ago in Riga in the semi-finals of the Briež and Usik Superseries, has suffered only one loss in his career. It was four years ago that the 29-year-old Wallin accepted a challenge from Tyson Fury and lost on points. But with this fight in Las Vegas, Valin raised his stock considerably, as he thoroughly destroyed Fury over 12 rounds, who needed 47 stitches above his eye after the fight.
Valin then had an opportunity to fight for the WBC silver title against Dillian Whyte, but Whyte was injured, the fight was postponed and ultimately did not happen. Valin fought on a smaller scale, taking a six-game winning streak that was greatly enhanced in September when the Swedish left-hander defeated Murat Gassiev, a former Super Series finalist, on points in the cruiserweights.
Joshua is, of course, posted as the favorite for the fight, but not a huge one, especially when you remember how hard it was for him against another clumsy southpaw in Oleksandr Usik. No championship belt will be on the table in this fight, but there’s no doubting how high the stakes are.
Wilder vs. Parker – a clash of two former champions
There is no doubt as to what outcome the promoters and organizers involved will be hoping for in the main fights of the evening. Word is that if Joshua and Wilder are victorious and avoid more serious injuries, they will fight each other in the spring. Although the promoters deny it, a concrete agreement has been reached for such a scenario. But both Joshua and Wilder have to deal with that “if” word.
And Wilder’s opponents are far from being rookies either. New Zealand boxer Joseph Parker is a former WBO world champion who lost his title five years ago on points to Joshua. That was followed by a points loss to White as well, but Parker was on an upward curve that was halted by a loss a year ago to Great Britain’s Joe Joyce.
For all that, Parker is still only 31 years old, and against Wilder’s background (38), he’s still a young man with a lot ahead of him. Parker has only been knocked out once in his 36-fight career, while Wilder has won 42 of his 43 by knockout. A year ago, Wilder “knocked out” the Finnish boxer Helenius in the first round.
True, this one boxed round is still Wilder’s only one since his October 2021 loss to Fury. This will be his first fight in 2023, which accordingly leaves room for questions about his readiness to fight against such a high-level opponent. Wilder is, of course, the favorite, and his punching power is still legendary – after all, he is a boxer who defended the WBC title ten times and finished 90% of those fights by knockout.
The fight night is scheduled to start at 18.00 Latvian time, while the fights between Wilder and Joshua are scheduled later – around midnight. The live broadcast will be offered by the DAZN platform, which is also available in Latvia, however, it should be noted that the live broadcast is offered on a “pay-per-view” basis. In the territory of Latvia, the price of the live broadcast is 12 euros, in addition, an active DAZN subscription is also required to activate it.
List of battles
BoxerBoxerAnthony Joshua (26-3)Otto Valin (26-1)Deontay Wilder (43-2-1)Joseph Parker (33-0)Dmitry Bivol (21-0)Lyndon Arthur (23-1)Jay Opetaia (23-0) )Ellis Zorro (17-0)Aslanbek Mahmudov (18-0)Agit Kabajel (23-0)Daniel Dubois (19-2)Jarrell Miller (26-0-1)Frank Sanchez (23-0)Junior Fa (20- 2) Filip Hrgovic (16-0) Marc de Mori (41-2-2)
Resources used:
https://www.boxingscene.com/
