Is the 'Day of Reckoning' fight card with Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder the greatest boxing event of all time?

2023-12-23
5 min read
Matchroom Boxing

The 'Day of Reckoning' fight card in Saudi Arabia is absolutely loaded with talent, even aside from both Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua competing at the top of the bill. 

They will take on Otto Wallin and former champion Joseph Parker, respectively. WBA light heavyweight champion and top 10 pound-for-pound talent Dmitry Bivol is there too, as is arguably the best cruiserweight in the world in Jai Opetaia. Fellow heavyweights Daniel Dubois, Jarrell Miller, Frank Sanchez and Filip Hrgovic all feature. 

The quality of names on this fight card is astounding and serves as an early Christmas gift for fight fans across the globe. The chatter surrounding the event is that it's one of the most loaded boxing shows in the history of the sport.

WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin, live on DAZN

Is that true? Maybe. 

Due to the watered-down nature of most PPV cards where there’s rarely anything of interest outside of the main and co-main events, 'Day of Reckoning' certainly looks like a runaway for one of the best fight cards ever put together. 

However, there have been some very solid cards in recent memory that may not have the same depth but had more than enough appeal on the undercard. 

Interestingly enough, one of the most ridiculous mismatches in boxing delivered a card full of talented fighters. 

Floyd Mayweather’s 2017 showdown with MMA superstar Conor McGregor featured Gervonta “Tank” Davis facing Francisco Fonseca in the co-main event, while Badou Jack squared off with Nathan Cleverly and Yordenis Ugas fought Thomas Dulorme on the prelims. There was also the professional debut of Savannah Marshall to kick off the card.

Mayweather’s clash with Miguel Cotto in 2012 featured an undercard with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez battling Shane Mosley, and also featured future champions Jesse Vargas, Keith Thurman and Omar Figueroa.

For those who enjoy the lighter weights, the first “Superfly” event that featured fights in the super flyweight division was exceptional as Srisaket Sor Rungvisai battled Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in the main event, Naoya Inoue faced Antonio Nieves and Juan Francisco Estrada took on Carlos Cuadras. 

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But if you’re really looking for a fight card that is comparable to 'Day of Reckoning' you would have to go back to the 1990s when some truly stacked fight cards were put together by none other than Don King. 

Yes, that Don King. On May 8, 1993, King put together an obscene card that was headlined by a highly anticipated clash between Julian Jackson and Gerald McClellan. The undercard was incredible, with Lennox Lewis taking on Tony Tucker and also featuring Julio Cesar Chavez, Meldrick Taylor, Hector Camacho and Oba Carr in separate bouts. 

A year later, Julio Cesar Chavez and Frankie Randall headlined another truly stacked card promoted by King as Gerald McClellan faced Julian Jackson in a rematch, Azumah Nelson squared off with Jesse James Leija and other notable names such as Meldrick Taylor, Ricardo Lopez, Terry Norris and Christy Martin also featured. 

MORE: Why Anthony Joshua didn't fight Jarrell Miller

But perhaps the greatest fight card in boxing history occurred on September 28, 1979. 

The main event was a rematch between Larry Holmes and Earnie Shavers. But the undercard was mindblowing as it starred Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Wilfredo Gomez in separate bouts. And guess what? It was on free television as ABC broadcast the card on a Friday afternoon. 

A fight card jam-packed with hall-of-fame talent is a rarity but King managed to pull it off. The times have changed and the financial means to put together a card of that magnitude is incredibly difficult. 

But 'Day of Reckoning' comes mighty close to being the biggest and best put-together boxing events in history. The only thing that is left is to see if the fights live up to the hype.

WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin, live on DAZN