Instead, the fight will not happen as while Anthony Joshua dominated Otto Wallin with Wallin's corner stopping the fight after the fifth round, Deontay Wilder was unable to do his part as he sleepwalked through a unanimous decision defeat to Joseph Parker in the co-main event.
Joshua was very sharp in carving up Otto Wallin, busting him up around both eyes and hurting Wallin in the fifth round before Wallin's corner stopped the fight with their fighter unlikely to turn the tide in the future.
I had Joshua ahead 49-46 at the time of the stoppage, and while Wallin is a solid contender, he might have been well-matched for Joshua because Wallin isn't known as a big puncher, Joshua didn't have to worry about his chin letting him down.
Joshua now will have to wonder about his next opponent as his agreed-to-March battle with Deontay Wilder was contingent on both men winning.
Wilder's defeat was pretty dull as Wilder walked around a patient Parker with his powerful right hand cocked but could never seem to get the punch off as Parker respected the power and boxed from the outside.
Parker's offense wasn't a lot more active than Wilder but it was enough to easily win on the cards of the judges at 120-108, 118-111, and 118-110, the latter score agreeing with my score.
Wilder-Joshua could still happen, but it's unlikely that Joshua would take that risk now with the shine removed from Wilder's pedestrian performance.
At 38, Wilder looked very much the part of an aging fighter, seeing openings and unable to fire at them, and when you consider the money Wilder has made in his career, he shouldn't need to continue unless he wishes to.
As for Parker, adding the name Wilder to his resume gives him a boost and could make him a desirable opponent for an up-and-coming prospect, or perhaps get him into a title eliminator that could eventually earn him another title shot.
Being Christmas Day, time is a little short so I'm going with the results from the rest of the card with my scores to the right.
I have not watched the Frank Sanchez-Junior Fa match.
Daniel DuBois KO 10 Jarrell Miller (DuBois leading 88-83)
Dmitry Bivol: Unanimous Decision over Lyndon Arthur (Bivol 120-107) to retain his WBA light heavyweight title.
Agit Kabayel KO 4 Arlanbek Makhmudov (Kabayel leading 29-28)
Flip Hrgovic KO 1 Mark DeMori
Jai Opietaia KO 1 Ellis Zorro
Frank Sanchez KO 7 Junior Fa
Boxing Challenge
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