Anthony Joshua Beats Joseph Parker Via Unanimous Decision

Anthony Joshua remains undefeated after seeing the judges' cards for the first time in his career, earning a unanimous decision win over Joseph Parker on Saturday at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire provided the cards: 

It was a cautious, uneven performance from Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), who added Parker's WBO world heavyweight title to his collection. The 28-year-old superstar landed bigger shots than Parker (24-1, 18 KOs) and was overall the more accurate puncher, per CompuBox, but he did very little combination work and looked uncomfortable with Parker's movement.

After the bout, Joshua said he would want to fight either Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury next, per the Showtime broadcast.

Parker came into the bout cutting a trimmer figure than he had in years and with two surgically repaired elbows. He acquitted himself well against the toughest opponent of his career. The 26-year-old New Zealander was quick on his feet, looked good in the middle rounds with his double jab and was never really hurt in the bout.

The Ring's Mike Coppinger felt there were plenty of close rounds that could go either way, while CBS Sports' Brian Campbell disagreed with the scoring:

Parker was snapping his trademark jab quickly early on, looking to control the rhythm of the bout and keep his opponent at a distance. Joshua settled into the languid pace, waiting for his opportunities and landing a few well-timed shots to the body. 

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

UCNLive.com's Steve Kim felt Parker's jab work was more defense than offense:

Parker was spending most of his time on the back foot, jabbing without really stepping into the punch. Joshua appeared content to stalk his opponent around the ring, but he failed to land with much consistency.

After the fourth round, ESPN's Dan Rafael relayed Parker's trainer imploring his fighter to do more:

The fight finally picked up in the sixth round, ignited by a strong right uppercut from Parker that looked to hurt Joshua. Parker's awkward movement and effective counterpunching made it difficult for Joshua to unleash his full arsenal of punches. 

CompuBox shows Parker got the better of him in that round:

With the action starting to pick up, there were a couple of instances when referee Giuseppe Quartarone decided to step in and break the fighters up with seemingly little reason to do so. It didn't go over well with Saturday Night Boxing's Adam Abramowitz:

The final rounds were a disappointment for fans who had come to see Joshua. The two men only briefly got into big exchanges. Joshua kept his wits about him, but there would be no early finish on this night. 

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Joshua left the door open for another bout before he takes on Wilder by dropping Fury's name, but fans will be clamoring for the two to go at it to unify the heavyweight division. Wilder owns the WBC world heavyweight title—the last one that Joshua needs to add to his collection. 

Joshua's performance on the night wasn't exciting, but it will likely be a stepping stone with even bigger things to come.