We are almost there — a fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder is close.

On December 23, live on pay-per-view, the Day of Reckoning will happen. This heavyweight extravaganza pits Anthony Joshua against Otto Wallin, and Deontay Wilder against Joseph Parker, together with a handful interesting heavyweights are also scattered across the undercard as well. 

Here are five thoughts on this card.

Joshua-Wilder is near

Deontay Wilder hasn’t fought in over a year since October, 2022. Before that, he was stopped by Tyson Fury to conclude their brutal trilogy. 

Anthony Joshua is more active but suffered two losses to Oleksandr Usyk, and has had some middling and underwhelming performances while staying active. This will be Joshua’s third fight in 2023 — yet somehow that isn’t reassuring as he has looked vulnerable in each of his fights.

The card seems to have a simple rubric — put Joshua and Wilder at the top, in competitive bouts to showcase their talents, and head into 2024 with a mega-fight between the two. 

This fight was rumored in 2018 and appears likely to happen six years later, providing they win their respective fights this weekend.

It was supposed to determine the best heavyweight of the modern era. Instead, it will be for the legacy of who was the better heavyweight between the two of them as both fighters lost their career defining bouts as of now.  

The context has changed, but the vibrant personalities involved still make a Joshua-Wilder bout interesting if it happens. 

Both underdogs are live 

Minor details, but both opponents can win on Saturday. Otto Wallin is a tricky southpaw who has been heavily avoided and now Anthony Joshua is facing him with very little momentum heading into this fight. Oh, and Joshua isn’t training with Derrick James for this bout.

Joseph Parker, who faces Deontay Wilder has one of the best jabs in modern heavyweight boxing. Despite being unassuming for a former world champion, he can make the fight hard for Wilder. At the very least play spoiler as long as he avoids the power of Wilder — a big if. 

Normally when cards of this nature are made you have clear favorites. Yet, this card is playing with fire since both fighters are fighting hungry and motivated fighters who have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

Dubois-Miller 

The best fight of the undercard is an odd one. Daniel Dubois believes he should be the heavyweight champion after dropping Oleksandr Usyk with what some feel was a low blow, including the referee, who adjudged it as a foul. Others, though, regard it to have been a legal shot which could have sprung one of the upsets of the year.

Dubois faces Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller, a fighter who lost out on an Anthony Joshua payday due to failing a drug test. He has come back since then and now is reported to be 300+-pounds heading into this fight.  

Dubois is the more skillful fighter, but has shown some issues with his mentality. Miller has elements of Joe Joyce, a fighter who beat Dubois through volume and bullying him. This is a good stern test for Dubois who could have a hangover effect coming off his best performance in recent memory as a pro. Miller is very live if he is anything like what he once was.

The midday pay-per-view 

The fight is on pay-per-view. It is also on the last Saturday before Christmas, and the day before Christmas Eve. On the West Coast, the pay-per-view starts in the morning. On the east, mid-afternoon.  

Given the climate of the holiday season, and the chaos that comes with it. Now add that the fight is happening at an inconvenient time and going against things like college football.  

Two days before Christmas 

Boxing has a habit of not reading the room. Sure this card is happening in the middle east and is not catering to the Western world, but … from a business standpoint having a pay-per-view two days before Christmas is strange.  

Those paying for this fight seem to have two reasons. One, they are hardcore fight fans, or two, they are tuning in and hoping for chaos. The card seems like a placeholder to set the stage for Joshua versus Wilder fight in March-April. Something that often leads to trouble in boxing as upsets do happen, and they seem to especially happen in the heavyweight division.