GRADES: ANTHONY JOSHUA, JOSEPH PARKER, DEONTAY WILDER, JAI OPETAIA & MORE

By: Jay Calderon

So, not a lot of shows this weekend, but the giant Day of Reckoning card definitely gave us plenty to watch (and grade).

For starters, we had the two main events, featuring three former Heavyweight world titlists. First, we saw Joseph Parker easily (and surprisingly) handle Deontay Wilder, beating the American in nearly every frame.

Then, to cap off the night, Anthony Joshua beat up and ultimately stopped Otto Wallin in a one-sided affair.

All that, plus action from Cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia and Light-Heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol. So, without much more ado, let's hand out these Grades:

ANTHONY JOSHUA
GRADE: A+
RESULT: DEF. OTTO WALLIN, 5TKO (HEAVYWEIGHT)
Well, that demolition job of Otto Wallin may have been the best overall performance by Anthony Joshua in about half a decade.

The Londoner was composed, sure of his work, and seemed eager to do a job from the opening bell. No, it wasn't the old AJ that was looking for blood with every punch, rather, it was a more mature Joshua that picked the right shots and landed them well throughout the handful of frames.

Outside of Jai Opetaia and Agit Babayel, no one's stock grew more on the night than that of AJ. When you consider that AJ beat Wallin (the man to give Tyson Fury trouble a few years back) and Joseph Parker (a fighter AJ previously beat) easily handled Deontay Wilder (a rival of Joshua), it was a damn good night for the former unified champion.

OTTO WALLIN
GRADE: F
RESULT: LOSS TO ANTHONY JOSHUA, 5TKO (HEAVYWEIGHT)
Ever since his close/competitive loss to Tyson Fury back in 2019, Otto Wallin has been calling for the bigger fights, feeling he had shown enough to deal with the top level of the Heavyweight division.

And after all that, Wallin goes out there and gets absolutely battered by Anthony Joshua.

No matter how you slice it, that's a terrible performance. Wallin didn't show any signs of spirit, no movement or angles. He wasn't even allowed out of second gear. When finally hurt in that fifth frame, he seemed lucky to see the bell.

Wallin was a defeated man that too easily accepted such a fate in his corner.

JOSEPH PARKER
GRADE: A+
RESULT: DEF. DEONTAY WILDER, 12UD (HEAVYWEIGHT)
It's hard to give Joseph Parker anything other than a perfect mark when you consider the circumstances. Parker wins the biggest fight of his career, against a former titlist in Deontay Wilder (a massive favorite, I might add), and Joseph did it in one-sided fashion.

Wilder is a bit older, slower, and has always been somewhat one-dimensional. That said, Parker isn't a spring chicken, and has been in some tough fights throughout his career. So, really, those aren't great excuses for Wilder.

The truth of the matter is that Parker was the fresher and the better fighter, has been more active, and has improved much more in real life fights. All that matters, and it showed in the fight.

DEONTAY WILDER
GRADE: D
RESULT: LOSS TO JOSEPH PARKER, 12UD (HEAVYWEIGHT)
The best days of Deontay Wilder are over.

Against Joseph Parker, the once threatening Wilder seemed lethargic, uninterested, and one-dimensional. And even that one dimension didn't seem all that concerning to Parker. Wilder just couldn't get anything going.

Wilder claimed to have no excuses (right before listing off a series of excuses that included ayahuasca). Regardless, other than (more or less) accepting the defeat gracefully, it's hard to find anything Wilder did well on the night.

DMITRY BIVOL
GRADE: B
RESULT: DEF. LYNDON ARTHUR, 12UD (LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT)
You will be hard pressed to find a boxing fan that isn't going to give Dmitry Bivol credit for being one of the best fighters (if not, the best) in or around his weight class. However, excitement isn't always his particular brand of boxing.

Personally, I enjoy his clinics. I'm someone that enjoys seeing his technique. However, when a fighter simply seems to lack that killer instinct, it can be hard to market said fighter, and even harder to make the biggest and best fights available.

Against Lyndon Arthur, Bivol was dominant, and hardly lost a round. However, not everyone will call themselves impressed with a long-reigning world champion going the distance with a massive underdog.

JAI OPETAIA
GRADE: A+
RESULT: DEF. ELLIS ZORRO, 1KO (CRUISERWEIGHT)
I'll keep it short and sweet like Jai Opetaia's win over Ellis Zorro itself: Opetaia is the man at 200 pounds.

DANIEL DUBOIS
GRADE: A
RESULT: DEF. JARRELL MILLER, 10TKO (HEAVYWEIGHT)
In some respects, regardless of the finish in the final frame, Daniel Dubois showed solid signs of growth as a fighter. In the past, Dubois has shown weakness, signs of mental lapses that have cost him in his biggest contests when things got tough.

Against Jarrell Miller, Dubois remained focused, looked solid in most moments, and earned that aforementioned stoppage in the tenth after a competitive bout. All things considered, it's likely a career-best performance.

JARRELL MILLER
GRADE: D-
RESULT: LOSS TO DANIEL DUBOIS, 10TKO (HEAVYWEIGHT)
Who would have thought that a career-heaviest Jarrell Miller would tire down the strerch against a focused Daniel Dubois? Shocking, I know.

How can you talk all that trash, only to show up for the biggest fight of your career up to this point in terrible shape?

Interestingly enough, Miller stayed competitive enough early but faded and was stopped late -- something possibly avoidable by an in-shape fighter.

Long road back to relevance for Miller.

AGIT KABAYEL
GRADE: A-
RESULT: DEF. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV, 4TKO (HEAVYWEIGHT)
Agit Kabayel was effectively perfect against the heavily favored Arslanbek Makhmudov. While the fight ended quickly, Kabayel was methodical, broke his man down and finished him in the fourth.

The only issue one might find in the performance was Kabayel was tagged a bit much when going through the gears. At Heavyweight, that can be a problem going forward. Still, credit to the 5-1 underdog for the massive win -- the biggest of his career thus far.

ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV
GRADE: D
RESULT: LOSS TO AGIT KABAYEL, 4TKO (HEAVYWEIGHT)
Somewhat surprisingly, the next Heavyweight bully in Arslanbek Makhmudov was effectively boxed, bullied himself, and stopped by Agit Kabayel in a rather big upset on the Day Of Reckoning undercard.

Makhmudov couldn't deal with the movement or speed, and was ultimately beaten to the body in a shockingly one-sided (and short) encounter that went against the previously-undefeated Russian.

LINKS:

- SCHEDULE & ODDS

- RESULTS

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