Day of Reckoning Preview
The “Day of Reckoning” is coming to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, December 23rd. A powerful card of boxing will close out 2023 with a bang. The main event will be a high stakes heavyweight fight between former champion Anthony Joshua and surging contender Otto Wallin.
The co-main event will be another high-stakes heavyweight fight between former champions Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker. Also featured will be a heavyweight fight between former title challenger Daniel Dubois and undefeated contender Jarrell Miller. Starting the main card is fight for the WBA light heavyweight title between champion Dmitry Bivol and Lyndon Arthur.
Joshua is coming off a seventh round KO of Robert Helenius in August. The victory was his second straight win after losing two straight decisions to Oleksandr Usyk for the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles. The former two-time unified champion is looking to fight for a title once again, and it starts with a convincing win over Wallin.
How does he feel about being a three-time champ? "It's everything," he said. "It is to become a three-time heavyweight champion. But it's also to become a dominant fighter, a better fighter. What that means is the championship will follow that."
"If I go in the ring and I dominate and I'm better than my opponent, naturally the championship will be around my waist. Because I'm just better. I'm destined for that."
Joshua has had to reinvent himself before, and he feels becoming a champion again will require the same mindset around change. "Now when I question myself, I say I'm going to put in the extra effort and whatever it needs to be the best version of a fighter I can be for the next coming years and I can look back and say I'm happy with the effort and the time put in," he reflected.
The English fighter concluded, "Let's make the most of this," Joshua tells himself. "Let's focus and let's put in the work we need to put in while we're on this journey.
"Because I don't want to look back and say I wish I would have done more, when I've got the opportunity to do more right now. It's right in front of me."
Wallin has won six straight fights since losing a unanimous decision to Tyson Fury in 2019 for the first and only loss of his career. He surprised many in that fight as he gave Tyson Fury all he could handle. Wallin most recently won a split decision over Murat Gassiev in September.
The Swedish fighter feels well prepared to defeat Joshua. “ I hurt Fury, I hurt Gassiev, I can hurt Joshua. We know each other pretty well from sparring, the amateurs,” said Wallin.
“I’ve watched pretty much all of his fights when they happen, and with this fight I watched Joshua’s fights against [Jermaine] Franklin, [Robert] Helenius, the two fights with [Oleksandr] Usyk, [Andy] Ruiz. Pretty much all the fights.
“I feel great, I feel confident in my team.”
The 33-year-old believes this fight with Joshua was a no-brainer. "It shouldn’t even be a question," Wallin Said. "Of course I'm confident, otherwise I wouldn't take this fight.
"I feel like I've shown in the past that I'm a good fighter. I gave Fury a very good fight, and I take pride in my work.
"I’ve been working very hard to come to this place where I'm at now, and I'm just here ready to take full advantage of this opportunity."
Wallin concluded, "I think, one, he hasn't really looked the same, and I've gotten better," he said.
"So I've worked very hard over the years to get to this place, so I feel like I'm getting better all the time. And I'm not sure that he is."
The co-main event will see the return of two former champions. Deontay Wilder rebounded from two bad losses to Tyson Fury, with a brutal first round KO of Robert Helenius 14 months ago. This card is set to be the launching pad for a long-awaited showdown between Wilder and Joshua. How does Wilder feel about that fight finally happening?
"I don't want to say he's 100% afraid, but I think he's 75%," said Wilder.
"Money hasn't been the issue. It comes with not having the heart, the will, the courage to step in the ring.
"I don't really just blame it on Joshua. I blame it on his handlers, on his promotion and his management."
"Not only do I feel Joshua is intimidated of me, but I feel his promoter is as well," he added. "That's why the fight hasn't happened."
Despite what the former WBC champion may feel about Joshua’s intentions, he knows what the fight means to boxing. "That's the biggest fight in the world,” he said.
"Now the moment has come where it's the closest that it's ever been in history right now. The closest that it's ever been.
"I'm excited to say that. I'm not 100 per cent sure that it's going to happen.
"There's a lot of things that have gone on, a lot of things that have been done.
Like Joshua has had to do, Wilder is in the process of reinventing himself since fighting Tyson Fury three straight fights. The time is now, as he turned 38 years old in October, but there is no doubt that a battle with Joshua will be heavily anticipated regardless of age or records.
Daniel Dubois vs. Jarrell Miller
Dubois (19-2, 18 KO) is coming off a ninth round KO loss in August to Oleksandr Usyk for the unified titles.
“This is the fight that I think I need at this stage. Let’s got for it. No ducking, no dodging in this game. I want to leave a legacy behind that’s remembered and make sure I finish what we started, said Dubois.
“100%, that’s what I like. That’s my cup of tea,” said Dubois about his liking the fact that Jarrell Miller will be standing directly in front of him on Saturday night, looking to slug it out.”
Miller (26-0, 22 KO) is coming off a sixth round TKO of Lucas Browne in March.
“I did my homework on him [Dubois], he's trained at Don Charles, I know all his sparring partners,” said Miller.
'There's no one that can mimic me. That is the worst mistake you can do, trying to find a 335 pound guy that can mimic a guy that throw any punches around.
'There's no person on the planet that does what I do. He brought in some guys, one was big, like really out of shape, he doesn't really have no heart. I don't think he can ever, you know, mimic my style, but you know.
“I feel like they had a big body in front of him and that's the best they can do.”
Dmitry Bivol vs. Lyndon Arthur for Bivol’s WBA Light heavyweight title
Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KO) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Gilberto Ramirez a year ago.
“Every time I get in the ring, I think like this is the best opponent that I will face, and this is the hardest fight of my career,” Bivol said. “It helps me to be focused and take my training campy seriously.
“Preparation for this fight has been good. I spent my time in Kyrgyzstan for my training camp. It was a nice time and I had good sparring. I had my last sparring on Monday before my fight on Saturday. Everything is good.”
Lyndon Arthur (23-1, 16 KO) has won four straight and most recently defeated Braian Nahuel Suarez by 10th round KO in September.
"The fight came as a bit of a shock, I thought I was going to be fighting in February, but then they offered me Bivol for Dec. 23 and I said 'Yeah, I'm up for it'," Arthur said. "Everyone knows how good Bivol is, I'm fully aware of what Bivol can do, but I just have to focus on being the best version of myself, not concentrating on him. I'm preparing for someone who is going to take me seriously, not overlook me. I'm not thinking about if they underestimate me."
The event starts at 11:00am ET and the main event ring walks will start at 5:45pm ET. The fights can be seen on ESPN+ PPV and DAZN PPV
