A knockout artist could finish his painting tonight when Deontay Wilder faced Joseph Parker. Saudi Arabia was the place to be to see the spectacle of a 12-round boxing match. But, it was not the dogfight that people expected. Rather, it was the former WBC champion getting pummeled and letting his age show. All he could do was give his flowers to his foe after the bout, via Donald McRae of The Guardian.

“Big ups to Joseph. You did a great job avoiding a lot of my punches. We make no excuses tonight, you know what I mean? It was a good fight. And we move on to the next,” former WBC champion Deontay Wilder said after his gracious defeat.

No one was knocked out cold on the canvas in Saudi Arabia. Both of them stood their ground and refused to get hit with a scary haymaker. However, it was Deontay Wilder who got the short end of the stick. Some punches were just out of rhythm while other combinations were just not landing. Some analysts speculate that it could have been his inactivity that led to the loss to Joseph Parker.

Deontay Wilder seemingly agrees with the notion but remains unsure, “Could have, but we’re not going to base it off of that. We did what we did and we will move on to the next. You know what I mean? We live to see another day and that’s what it’s all about.”

Deontay Wilder will now shift his focus from competitive into celebration mode as he looks forward to the holidays with his family.