Deontay Wilder Predicts He'll KO Joseph Parker 'Early' in Saturday's Boxing Fight

Deontay Wilder is full of confidence going into this fight with Joseph Parker on Saturday.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, the Bronze Bomber promised an "early" win by knockout.

Even though Wilder stopped short of offering a specific round when it would happen, he made sure everyone knows he's prepared for this matchup.

"I'm expecting to be very fresh," said Wilder. "I'm expecting to be intact. I got a great team on my side and we're looking for greatness. Nothing less."

This will be Wilder's first bout since defeating Robert Helenius via first-round TKO in October 2022. There were talks about a potential four-belt heavyweight unification match with Anthony Joshua earlier this year, but the bout was scrapped when negotiations fell apart.

ESPN's Mike Coppinger reported last week that Wilder and Joshua have an agreement in place to fight in Saudi Arabia on March 9 if both men win their next fight.

Wilder is taking on Parker in one of the co-main events on the Dec. 23 "Day of Reckoning" event at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua will square off with Otto Wallin in the other co-main event on the show.

The 31-year-old Parker has a 33-3 record with 23 knockouts in his career. This will be his fourth fight of the year and second fight in eight weeks after his third-round knockout of Simon Kean on Oct. 28.