A historic night for boxing has been confirmed with Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder set to fight in separate bouts on a star-studded show in Saudi Arabia on 23 December. Joshua will take on Otto Wallin in the main event, while Wilder faces former world champion Joseph Parker.
The fights are viewed as a stepping stone to bring the heavyweight rivals together in the ring in 2024, a clash that has been eight years in the making. The card also includes Daniel Dubois against Jarrell Miller, the American who failed drug tests in 2019, leading to his cancelled world title fight with Joshua.
In total, there will be eight fights on the card, six at heavyweight, bringing together some of boxing’s biggest names and promotional rivals, including Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren. The show is backed by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
Joshua’s opponent Wallin has just one defeat in 28 professional fights, having gone the distance with Tyson Fury in 2019 and opened up a huge cut on 'The Gypsy King'. Due to logistical issues, Joshua will be trained by Ben Davison for this fight, the same man who was in Fury’s corner for that bout.
Wilder, 38, will be fighting for just the second time in over two years, having demolished Robert Helenius in one round in October 2022. He faces Parker, the former WBO champion who has won three fights in 2023. The card also features WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol against Lyndon Arthur, and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia against Ellis Zorro.
