Joseph Parker stunned Deontay Wilder in a heavyweight upset, winning a unanimous decision after 12 rounds in Riyadh.
Both Wilder and Parker were former heavyweight champions, Parker once the holder of the WBO belt and Wilder a dominant WBC titlist until he lost the belt to Tyson Fury.
But Wilder is one of the most fearsome punchers in the sport and was expecting to set up a showdown with Anthony Joshua with a tune-up win over Parker.
However the New Zealander wrecked all of those plans with a stunning unanimous decision win, taking it 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108 on the judges’ cards.
More to follow…
Bivol drops & shuts out Arthur
Dmitry Bivol defended the WBA light-heavyweight title, dropping Britain’s Lyndon Arthur and winning every round for all three judges.
He took the 12-round victory 120-107 on all the cards.
The champion controlled matters from the start, creeping forward and directing Arthur round the ring, harrying the Briton with jabs and solid counters.
He picked up round after round and Arthur could only grab the occasional moment of success. A body shot made Bivol retreat, briefly, but it didn’t get better than that for him.
Arthur did show toughness, nodding at times when Bivol caught him clean.
The champion still drilled in punches at will and, in the 11th round, he sustained an assault, unleashing a long sequence of shots with a final left hook to the body dropping Arthur.
He beat the count and was saved by the bell. Bivol went for the finish at the start of the 12th and last round.
He pummelled Arthur on the ropes. The challenger was brave, taking more shots, staying upright but not firing back.
Arthur managed to weather that storm and landed to the body himself.
The challenger chucked a right into the head, but Bivol took him back to the ropes and clattered punches into Arthur, though didn’t get a second knockdown despite his efforts.
He did shut Arthur out and now sets his sights on the undisputed championship, targeting the winner of Artur Beterbiev versus Callum Smith next year.
Beterbiev and Smith fight for the unified WBO, WBC and IBF championships on January 14 in Canada, live on Sky Sports.
Day of Reckoning featuring Anthony Joshua vs Otto Wallin is live on Saturday December 23. Sky customers can purchase on TNT Sports Box Office at www.sky.com/boxoffice/tnt-sports/day-of-reckoning