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As it happened: Anthony Joshua comfortably beats Joseph Parker in unanimous decision win, challenges Deontay Wilder for next title fight

April 1, 2018

Parker knew he needed a knockout in the final 30 seconds. Then the judges called it.

Relive 1 NEWS NOW's live updates of this morning's undercards and main event fights at the Joseph Parker v Anthony Joshua event at Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

10:55am: Joshua very flamboyant in his victor's interview. Calls out Wilder for the WBC heavyweight title to unify the belts. Parker on the other hand was very humble in defeat, saying, "the better champion won". That'll do it for our updates this morning. Stay tuned for all the reaction and interviews from Cardiff throughout the day on our website.

Joseph Parker v Anthony Joshua (heavyweight fight for WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO titles)

Result:Anthony Joshua wins by unanimous decision

10:40am: Joshua wins it. Judges score it 118-110 118-110 118-109. Great showing from both but Joshua used his jab brilliantly.

10:38am: R12 The round opens like all the others with Joshua in the middle. Parker looking a little desparate here and going for the body. Joshua gets him with a straight and the crowd responds. Parker backed into a corner. Escapes for the last minute. Joshua braces. 50s. Parker comes forward with two shots to the body and they brace again. 30s. Body shots again and more bracing. 10s. Bell goes and they embrace in the middle. We're going to the scorecards. Joshua may have this unfortunately.

10:34am: R11 Championship rounds we go. Joshua has never boxed passed the 11th round so we'll see how his endurance holds up. Joshua back to holding the middle of the ring with his jab - he must sense he has a lead and is just trying to hold it. Parker gets inside again with a solo hook but there's the brace and the ref breaks them up. Final minute. Both still looking light on their feet. Parker hits a clean left hook to the body and Joshua doubles over but he's quick to recover. That's a BIG shot from Parker and the bell goes. We're heading to the 12th!

10:30am: R10 Joshua opens the round aggressively with the jab. Crowd roars its approval. Parker gets away and comes back to land two to the body. Joshua not owning the centre of the ring anywhere near as much as he was. In sayin gthat, Parker not throwing anywhere near as many punches. Parker looking to try and get inside but Joshua fending it off. Bell goes on a stale round. Could go either way.

10:26am: R9 Parker lands some nice body shots to open. Joshua tries to respond with a rare uppercut but it misses. Joshua heads back to owning the centre of the ring with his jab and Parker seems happy to let him. Parker charges in for body shots and gets Joshua on the ropes but there's a brace and the ref breaks it up. Last minute. Parker goes in to the body again but they brace. Lands a nice pair of hooks to the body to finish the round - that could turn that close round in Parker's favour. Three rounds to go. We have Joshua up 5-4.

10:22am: R8 Joshua opens with a clean jab. Parker responds with a clean 1-2 to the body. Joshua is bracing a lot more in these late rounds but that may be window Parker needs to land those body shots Barry wants. Joshua certainly not looking as fast as the first few rounds. Parker comes in again for body shots. Lands one. Joshua steps in for a jab that connects but Parker hits the body at the same time! That's a close round but Joshua landed a few more clean shots.

10:19am: R7 Second half of the fight begins. Parker starting to lean in and looking to get in Joshua's face again. The pair brace and the ref steps in to separate them. Joshua throws an uppercut as they split and Kevin Barry is fuming in the corner. Ref has a word to Joshua and it's back on for the final minute. Parker lands some nice body shots as Joshua looks to brace. Joshua replies with a straight to the head. Bell goes and that one is a lot close than the last two, maybe even in Joshua's favour. Barry tells Parker to keep hitting the body.

10:14am: R6 IT'S ALL ON! Parker comes flying in with a hook and Joshua is running! He chases and throws wild punches but the ref steps in and stops it! Parker is going up a gear but Joshua joins him with a clean straight right. Joshua misses with a right and Parker responds with an uppercut to the body. Both taking a second to get a breather but they're back into it. Parker's confidence is growing and it's showing. He's smiling, ducking, weaving and taking it to Joshua now. Joshua having to go on the back foot more now - something that wasn't existant in the first few rounds. Joshua goes for a sloppy right and misses to finish the round. Another strong round for Parker and we have him winning it. Halfway through, Joshua up 4-2.

10:10am: R5 Big left straight to the head by Joshua as Parker tries to come inside. It hasn't hurt him but it's still a warning. Joshua misses with a few jabs and Parker fires back! 1-2 combo to the body has Joshua running backwards and Parker looks to strike but Joshua braces. Final minute. Parker lands a hook up top. Joshua throws a big right and misses wildly. He looks frustrated this round. Bell goes and that's Parker's best. The Kiwi clearly wins it.

10:06am: R4 Joshua lands an early jab clean and it has Parker on the back foot. He readjusts despite the roaring crowd and looks to go offensive. He's not going to win the jab battle so he's got to try and get inside. Wild hook from Joshua misses. Joshua lands a jab with 60s left. Bell goes as the two dance around the ring. It's been a tough start for Parker as Joshua continues to keep him out with his jab.

10:02am: R3 Joshua heads straight back to the centre of the ring and owns it. Parker's punches are insanely quick but he's just out of range! Joshua clips Parker in the head and the crowd roars. Parker fires back looking to go inside with an uppercut and they brace. Crowd getting rowdy now as Parker gets trapped in the corner. Brace again. Final minute. Nice right hook to the head from Parker but it's not enough to take that round either. Struggling to break through the range disadvantage.

9:57am: R2  Parker starts with a nice 1-2 to the body but Joshua is controlling the centre of the ring with his longer reach and the jab. Little bit of blood to the nose coming from Parker now after a clean straight by Joshua. Pair just trading jabs right now but Joshua is winning it. He has a six inch advantage in reach. Final minute. Nice hit to the body from Parker but Joshua responds with the jab. The two brace with 20s to go. Bell goes and that's two in the books. Judges will go with Joshua here so far. Winning the jab battle.

9:53am: R1  Joshua owning the centre of the ring but Parker very active in the first round. Finding his range with the jab. Joshua looking to go to the body early. Parker continues to dance around the ring and each time he nears a corner, Joshua moves forward to try and pin him but the Kiwi is quick to move on. Nice left hook from Joshua to the body. Parker responds with a straight right. Bell goes and nothing in it. Classic first round. Sizing each other up. 

9:51am: The bell goes and it's on. ROUND ONE OF TWELVE.

9:44am: It's on to the anthems. The Samoan anthem is first. Followed by NZ. There's boos after then anthems and Parker smiles. The boos stop as "God Save the Queen" comes on. Crowd joins in. Guess we know what side they're on for certain now.

9:37am: In comes Joshua. You can't even hear the music over the roar of the crowd. He has absolutely no entourage with him. Instead, he stops on a raised platform and plays to the crowd while a fire display goes off around him. Bit flashy but hey, he's a champion.

9:32am: The pacific drums are playing and here comes Joseph! He stands waiting in the tunnel to the sounds of "Ka Mate" and there's whistles from the crowd.  And out he comes! Roy Jones' "Can't Be Touched" blasts through the stadium and he has a Samoan and NZ flag either side him. He's all smiles in white and black trunks. Looks very relaxed.

9:24am: A little bit cliche but "Eye of the Tiger" plays in the Stadium to a montage of both fighters training to hype up the crowd. We're moments away from the entrances.

9:12am: That leaves just one fight, the one everyone's been waiting for. With the entrances, introductions and anthems to take into account, we estimate a start time of around 9:30am-9:45am. It's hard to pick these kinds of things but one thing for sure is the undercard is done!

Alexander Povetkin v David Price (heavyweight)

Result: Povetkin wins by 5th round knockout

9:01am: IT'S OVER! Povetkin lands a massive right hook and Price is wobbly. He follows up with the uppercut and Price is out on the canvas! Heavy fall too. Doctors immediately rush into the ring to check on him. Povetkin is now the mandatory challenger for Parker or Joshua! And what a statement to make it!

8:59am: Well, after a round like that one, it's no surprise this one was quiet - they're both still catching their breathes! Judges may lean towards Povetkin though as he lands a couple of late punches to the body. 

8:54am: BOOM! Povetkin lands a massive right hook to the chin and it drops Price! Price punches the canvas in anger as he gets up as he left himself wide open to that while going for a jab. But it's not over! BOOM! Price lands a big left hook on Povetkin's chin and sends him flying back to the corner! The bell rings but Povetkin's face says it. He's been stunned.

8:51am: Povetkin responds with a good round of shots to the body. It doesn't come easy as he's caught by the jab twice to the head but he's landing those blows early - time will tell how much it takes out of Price in the later rounds.

8:47am: Price lands a big headshot in the final seconds of the first round and Povetkin is wobbly! The bell goes and he heads straight for the corner. Price has the height and reach advantage in this one so Povetkin is trying to work the body but he got hit doing so. Fiery first round!

8:40am: It's the last fight before the big bout. 12 rounds of heavyweight action coming up. Fun fact about this, if Povetkin wins, he will be the mandatory challenger to the winner of Joshua/Parker.

8:33am: Top boxing promoter Bob Arum has been spotted at Principality Stadium... and he's showing who he's picking! 

Ryan Burnett v Yonfrez Parejo (bantamweight)

Result: Burnett wins by unanimous decision

8:27am: Burnett wins it! No surprises there. Absolute masterclass and he's defended his WBA title in the process. Judges score it 120-108, 120-108, 116-112. Domination.

8:25am: It goes the distance. No doubt Burnett has defended his title but we'll have to wait for the judges' scorecards to confirm it.

8:21am: One round left for Parejo to find a miracle. Burnett is walking around the ring and forcing Parejo to chase him but he knows a win is coming. Little more defensive now than the swagger he showed early in the fight. Not leaving anything to chance.

8:17am: We're heading to the Championship rounds! Short stoppage in the 10th as the ref gets the ringside doctor to check a small cut on Burnett's left eyebrow but he's happy and we move on. Cut came from a nice jab by Parejo but it is a little late now. He's going to need a knockout to take the WBA title.

8:12am: Another round for Burnett. Parejo is trying but Burnett is showing why he's the champion. He knows if it goes to the cards he's got the win here so he's just dancing around the ring and landing counter punches.

8:08am: Parejo looks a bit tired. He braces three times in the round for no other reason than to catch his breath. Burnett is landing punches to the head but they're not stunning Parejo so the only reason that can really remain is he just needs a break. Parejo has thrown A LOT of punches at Burnett but they're missing and we're starting to see the result. Four rounds left. Will he have any steam?

8:04am: Parejo landed two good shots that round but they don't seem to have affected Burnett who landed a couple of his own to. No doubt adrenaline is kicking in for both of the now as we start to move to the later rounds. 

8:00am: Halfway and the Champ is well up. Parejo just can't land a clean shot and all the taunting from Burnett looks like it's rattling him. It's happened again in the sixth round and Burnett's won it again with the weaving and counter punching.

7:56am: Burnett starting to show the swagger of a champion. Literally walks to the corner and gestures to Parejo to come and get him! Stands in the corner egging him until finally Parejo responds and Burnett lands the counter punch. He's even leaning in to Parejo to challenge him to land a punch but Burnett's weaving is too quick! Flowing like water. Burnett up five rounds to nil at the moment by our card.

7:52am: Another good round for Burnett. He's actually fighting with his hands down and head open but with such a wide stance, is able to weave Parejo's punches. It's a brilliant duck-and-weave display from him. 

7:48am: Much stronger round from Burnett. He's found his range now and is out-punching Parejo beautifully. Lands a big jab to the head that wobbles Parejo. Parejo recovers but that's a statement early from Burnett.

7:44am: Second round in the books and that goes to Burnett too. Both fighters are being aggressive with their punches but it's the champion who's landing more. Working the jab while Parejo is opting for hooks to the body.

7:40am: Fiery first round with both squaring each other up. Both working the jab. Both ducking and weaving. This looks like it's going to be a very awkward fight. Burnett probably takes the first round for cleaner punches but it's close.

7:35am: Big fight coming up as Burnnett defends his WBA title against Parejo. 12 rounds of Championship Boxing on the way.

7:28am: Parker looking super calm heading into the fight. This was him overnight (morning local time) going for his traditional walk around the city.

Anthony Crolla v Edson Ramirez (lightweight)

Result: Crolla wins by unanimous decision

7:22am: Judges give it to Crolla! Scores are 100-91, 100-90, 98-92 but in no way reflect how close it was. Still, Crolla did well to defend from Ramirez's attack - espescially with that cut. 

7:20am: It goes the distance and we'll go to the scorecards to find a winner. Crolla probably comes away with it here but we'll have to wait and see. Fought the better fight but Ramirez was right in it.

7:16am: Very strong round from Crolla, landing a few shots to the head here. Ramirez is getting loose trying to find blows to that cut to try and sneak away with a TKO win but he's leaving himself exposed doing so! Crolla takes the ninth. One round to go.

7:12am: Hard one to pick that. Crolla has really come back into the contest here and making it close on the scorecard. Eighth probably leans in his favour as his defence is working well with some counter punching. It's still a close contest though.

7:09am: HE'S HERE!

7:08am: Crolla continues his attack but there's a risk his eye could stop it. Referee calls in the ringside doctor to have a look mid round with a timeout but the doc is happy to let it continue. A lot of blood coming out of there though and Crolla's cheek is stained red.

7:04am: Crolla comes roaring back into this one and takes the sixth round. Ramirez is getting greedy trying to land body shots and he's leaving himself open as a result. Nice counters from the local.

7:00am: Close round but Ramirez seems to be getting the better of it now. Not sure whether that cut has affected Crolla but he's really defensive since it occurred - not throwing many punches. Hard to win a fight when you do that.

6:56am: Ramirez continues his attack on Crolla but he's warned by the ref to watch another head clash - it doesn't look intentional. Just his fighting style.

6:52am: Ramirez takes the third round as he begins to find openings to strike but it's marred by an accidental head clash which has left Crolla with a nasty cut above his right eye. His corner goes straight to work but it's a biggie. If the fight gets through this next round, a winner can be found by the judges. But if the ref stops it because of that cut, we'll get a draw.

6:48am: Same again! Ramirez is on the front foot but Crolla's defence is doing well not to let him in. Second round is up in the air as well.

6:44am: Fairly even round to start things off. Leans towards Crolla but judges may have seen something different. 

6:40am: Our next bout is underway! Crolla, the hometown favourite, against Ramirez in a 10 round lightweight match!

Josh Kelly v Carlos Molina (welterweight)

Result: Kelly wins by unanimous decision

6:22am: And it's confirmed. Judges score it 98-92, 98-92, 99-91 in Kelly's favour. Was never really a doubt. Molina just couldn't get into the fight and Kelly made him pay.

6:20am: Final bell goes and the two embrace in good sportsmanship in the middle of the ring. Kelly should win this on the scorecards but we'll wait for the official verdict.

6:16am: Kelly continues to land jabs and looks like he's happy for this to go the distance. Not going to give Molina a chance for a late KO so he dances around the ring buying time. Final round coming up.

6:12am: Kelly lands a BIG right jab clean to Molina's head and it sends the Mexican into the ropes. Molina recovers but hides for the rest of the round. Eighth belongs to Kelly.

6:09am: Molina is a bit more active in the seventh but still struggling to find any holes. Hard round to score that one.

6:05am: Kelly comes right back and owns the sixth round. Gets back to keeping his distance and using the jab effectively. Molina needs to find another opening and take full advantage or this could just go to the judges.

6:01am: Molina lands his first clean combination of the fight with a 1-2 connection to Kelly's chin. It doesn't phase Kelly, he gives a grin and a nod and is back to it. Halfway through the bout, we have Kelly up 4-1.

5:57am: Fourth round in the books and it's another one for Kelly. Molina just hasn't found an opening and Kelly is punishing him with quick combos any time he tries.

5:53am: Molina starting to look for punches now but Kelly isn't making it easy. Molina comes forward and he's met by a jab to the head. It's up to the Mexican to get inside or land some body punches to slow Kelly down.

5:48am: Second round is much of the same for Kelly. Molina is going to have to look for a window here or Kelly is just going to go for points.

5:44am: First round in the books and it leans towards Kelly. Using his range well with the jab and baiting Molina to try come at him.

5:41am: First round of 10 underway.

5:37am: Our next fight is about to get underway with both fighters heading to the ring. Molina picks a traditional Mexican song to walk out to while Kelly has gone with Michael Jackson's "PYT" - each to their own. 

Mose Auimatagi Jr lands a right hook on Morgan Jones.

5:30am: Just a recap on the earlier undercard fights, Young Kiwi Mose Auimatagi Jr has scored a massive upset win  over local boy Morgan Jones in the early undercard bouts! He staged a remarkable last round knockout after falling behind on points to the Welshman. A right hand connected in the final minute of the fight and left Jones wobbling! The ref stepped in to end it with eight seconds left!

We'll try and grab Auimatagi Jr for an interview later this morning!

Joe Cordina v Hakam Ben Ali (lightweight)

Result: Cordina wins by third round technical knockout

5:21am: AND JUST LIKE THAT, IT'S OVER! The referee waves it off with 14 seconds left in the third round. Cordina landed a big left hook to knock down Ben Ali. Ben Ali got up but after he went down a second time moments later from another shot to the head, it was over. First one in the books.

5:17am: Ben Ali gets a short break to recover after a low blow from Cordina. It wasn't a dirty shot - just a wee bit under the belt and it's clipped him. Besides that, Cordina seems to be landing the cleaner shots. Always hard picking early rounds like this but we'll go two rounds to Cordina so far.

5:13am: First one in the books. Not a lot in it. Both fighters just sizing each other up in that first round.

5:10am:  Bout to get our first undercard fight underway! It's 10 rounds of lightweight action with Cordina the home crowd favourite. Stadium definitely isn't full yet but you can already hear this crowd. 

5:00am

Good morning! We're about 5-10 minutes away from our first fight this morning (Joe Cordina v Hakam Ben Ali). We estimate Parker and Joshua will duke it out at around 8am.

Official weigh-in for England's Anthony Joshua (L) versus New Zealand's Joseph Parker. Heavyweight Boxing World title fight. Road to Undisputed. Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales. Friday 29 March 2018. © Copyright Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

PREVIEW

Not content with giving up a height, reach and crowd advantage to Anthony Joshua, New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker will also enter the ring lighter than the unbeaten Brit.

WBA, IBF and IBO champion Joshua (20-0) came in six pounds (2.7kg) heavier than Parker's 236 (107kg) for the official weigh-in yesterday ahead of today's unification bout at the nearby Principality Stadium.

Both fighters were lighter than their previous bouts, Joshua 12 pounds lighter than his last fight in October for his lowest fighting weight in four years and Parker the same amount smaller than his last outing against Hughie Fury.

A confident Parker (24-0) wasn't making too much of the disparity.

"He's in good shape, I'm in good shape," he said. "There's not much of a weight difference, which is good. We're both going to be fast for tomorrow night, we're both going to move well and throw some big bombs."

The two combatants again shared a long stare-down, but unlike Tuesday's press conference in London there was no encore.

"I saw confidence in him. I'm here for a good fight, I'm here for war," Parker added. "You're going to have to give me everything to beat me ... he's got a bigger crowd but that doesn't matter, that doesn't faze us."

Joshua has one eye on history but again insisted Saturday's fight was his only focus despite continuing talk of an ultimate unification bout against Deontay Wilder of the US.

"Even though I'm the champion of the world, in my mind I'm a challenger. I'm challenging for the WBO world title," he said.

"I'm hungry, determined, and willing to go the distance to get him out of there.

"These wins are creating history. This is history. Last person to do this was Mike Tyson 30 years ago.

"If I get this win, we will set history in 2018 and become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world."

FIGHT CARD

Morgan Jones v Mose Auimatagi Jr (super middleweight)
Josh Kelly v Carlos Molina (welterweight)
Joe Cordina v Hakam Ben Ali (lightweight)
Anthony Crolla v Edson Ramirez (lightweight)
Ryan Burnett v Yonfrez Parejo (bantamweight)
Alexander Povetkin v David Price (heavyweight)
Joseph Parker v Anthony Joshua (heavyweight, for four world titles)

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