By Geno McGahee
This Saturday is a huge night for heavyweight boxing and will bring some clarity to the top of the division and there might be some shocks along the way. Deontay Wilder, 43-2-1, 42 KO’s, and Anthony Joshua, 26-3, 23 KO’s, return to action against formidable opposition with a planned collision in March should they both win.
DEONTAY WILDER VS. JOSEPH PARKER – 12 Rounds
It’s been over a year since Deontay Wilder stepped into the ring. After a one round destruction of Robert Helenius, Wilder was at the negotiation table with Andy Ruiz but no agreement was made. Now, the fearless former WBO heavyweight champion, Joseph Parker, 33-3, 23 KO’s, has stepped in to take on the fiercest puncher in heavyweight history.
Parker is on a three fight winning spree against mediocre opposition after a battering at the hands of Joe Joyce. The slow clubbing Joyce just beat Parker down, but that wasn’t anything new. Joyce, before he lost to Zhilei Zhang twice, was an unstoppable destroyer and it was no shame to fall to his clubbing power.
I don’t think the loss to Joyce is going to have any impact on the Wilder fight. Wilder is not a hunter like Joyce was. He is a guy that looks for an opening to drop in the right hand and there’s enough evidence to suggest that he will land it and probably early. Parker has been down to Joyce, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora. These are slow plodders. Wilder’s right hand is lightning and should be able to find a spot sooner than later.
I look at this fight and think that Parker needs to fight the perfect fight. The last time I’ve said this statement was many years ago when Bruce Seldon fought Mike Tyson. Seldon did not fight a perfect fight. He did not make it out of round one.
The best shot for Parker seems to be the game plan of him and his team. The plan is an early fire fight with the hope to land on the chin of Wilder and get the stoppage before the right hand can find a home. I see the first two rounds as a crazy battle with Wilder landing in round three and stopping Parker.
ANTHONY JOSHUA VS. OTTO WALLIN – 12 Rounds
Anthony Joshua is in for a very tough fight with Otto Wallin, 26-1, 14 KO’s, in a 12 round scrap and it will be a scrap. Wallin might be a relative unknown, but he is a very good fighter with movement and decent power. His one defeat to Tyson Fury boosted his stock. He nearly stopped Fury on a cut, but would lose on points.
Wallin has won six bouts in a row since the loss to Fury and is full of confidence going into this huge opportunity. It’s easy to see where his mind is. It’s not as easy to see where Joshua’s head is going into this fight.
At one point, Joshua was a seek and destroy fighter, plowing through everyone with ease, including battering former champion Wladimir Klitschko to the floor. He would acquire the IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA titles in the process. In 2019, the trajectory of Joshua’s career changed when Andy Ruiz knocked him out in round 7 when it was obvious that AJ did not want to continue when he reached his feet. Joshua would regain his titles.
Joshua is 4-3 in his last seven fights with back to back losses to current heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk. He has put together two wins against low level opposition in Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius. Wallin is the first resistance he will see since Usyk and Wallin is going to be able to hold his ground a little more than Usyk was. This is a good fight for Joshua to rebound his career the right way or call the boxing game a day.
I think that we will see both Joshua and Wallin having moments in a very close and competitive fight. I think Joshua is mentally ready for this fight but it doesn’t take away from who he has in front of him. Wallin will use movement and countering to rattle Joshua and if he rattles him enough, he could batter him into a shell and march his way to a decision win.
In the end, Joshua’s strength should be the difference and he should edge out Wallin by a very close decision in the range of 115-113.
DANIEL DUBOIS VS. JARRELL MILLER – 10 Rounds
Daniel Dubois, 19-2, 18 KO’s, has been done no favors in his return fight after a TKO loss to Usyk, as he is pitted against Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, 26-0-1, 22 KO’s. Dubois is a big puncher but he has lost badly whenever he’s stepped up against a top ranked fighter. Dubois was stopped by Joe Joyce and beating into submission by Usyk in a title fight. Miller has had issues with testing dirty on banned substance tests and has had major issues with his weight, but he is still the wrong guy for Dubois.
Miller talks a lot and can get into the heads of fighters that have some fragility and considering that Dubois has been seen as a quitter on two occasions, he may have already won this fight. Miller is a decent puncher, a huge guy that will outweigh Dubois by 100 pounds or so, and will be coming forward trying to impose himself on him.
After watching his recent fight with Lucas Browne, I can see why Miller was the choice for team Dubois. He was easy to hit and looked slow. Maybe Miller isn’t the man he was without the PEDs or is just shot or too out of shape, but I doubt it. Dubois is most likely facing a focused and fit Miller and won’t be able to handle it. Miller will win this fight by TKO in six rounds.