Anthony Joshua And Deontay Wilder To Take Part In “Day Of Reckoning”

Boxing returns once more to Saudi Arabia as a card billed as “Day of Reckoning” has officially been set for Dec. 23 in Riyadh. Former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) will face Sweden’s Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC). In the “co-main” event is a clash between former champions Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) and Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs). The event will take place at the Kingdom Arena (the same venue as Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou) and is part of Riyadh Season, a state-funded entertainment and sports festival.

According to Big Fight Weekend’s Dan Rafael, a total of 12 promoters have some involvement in this event. The lead promoter is Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. A broadcaster was not announced during the press conference, but this should be clarified in the coming weeks.

Originally, an undisputed heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk was to take place on this date. This will now take place in early 2024 and a press conference on Nov. 16 is to announce the bout. Fury had a tougher time than expected against Ngannou and as a result will not be able to return on Dec. 23. As a result, organizers put together an event featuring Joshua, Wilder and others.

Full fight card

Although the majority of fights pit two heavyweights against each other, there will also be a light heavyweight and cruiserweight title clash. Here is the list of bouts:

Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) vs. Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC)

Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) vs. Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs)

Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) vs. Jarrell Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs)

Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) vs. Lyndon Arthur (23-1, 16 KOs)

Frank Sánchez (23-0, 16 KOs, 1 NC) vs. Junior Fa (20-2, 11 KOs)

Filip Hrgović (16-0, 13 KOs) vs. Mark De Mori (41-2-2, 36 KOs)

Arslanbek Makhmudov (18-0, 17 KOs) vs. Agit Kabayel (23-0, 15 KOs)

Jai Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) vs. Ellis Zorro (17-0, 7 KOs)

Bivol-Arthur will have the WBA light heavyweight title on the line. Opetaia-Zorro will see the IBF cruiserweight belt at stake. Although a number of top heavyweights are taking part in this event, there are some egregious matchups. De Mori, who some will remember for his stoppage loss to David Haye, should not be anywhere near Hrgović. Miller has tested positive for banned substances three times in his combat sports career (twice as a boxer and once as a kickboxer) and should not be boxing at all. Even the two world title fights leave much to be desired.

For now, these bouts are official and will serve as the second installment of boxing events taking place during Riyadh Season.

Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin faceoff

“I will f*** you up!” 🤬@anthonyjoshua rages at Otto Wallin during face off 😳#DayofReckoning | 23.12.23 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia pic.twitter.com/gPyFCVVNNL

— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) November 15, 2023

Deontay Wilder-Joseph Parker faceoff

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞-𝐎𝐟𝐟@BronzeBomber returns against @joeboxerparker.

The final hurdle ahead of a bout with @anthonyjoshua? #DayOfReckoning pic.twitter.com/a6JHPwgUsc

— Boxing News (@BoxingNewsED) November 15, 2023