Joshua-Parker vs Wilder-Ortiz: What’s the better heavyweight title fight?

We’ve got two big heavyweight title fights coming in March, with all four major titles on the line, as Deontay Wilder will defend the WBC title against Luis Ortiz on March 3, and then on March 31, Anthony Joshua puts his WBA and IBF titles up against the WBO belt of Joseph Parker.

Most likely, we’ll leave with two titleholders instead of three, however things shake out. But what’s the better fight of these two?

Wilder vs Ortiz

Deontay Wilder (39-0, 38 KO) is sort of the top of the division’s wild card right now. While we’ve seen press rival Joshua prove out against Wladimir Klitschko — though an admittedly aged version — in a great fight, it still feels like we haven’t seen Wilder truly tested.

That could change against the Cuban Luis Ortiz (28-0, 24 KO), who is big and strong, built like the proverbial brick shithouse (except he’s also 6’4” with an 84-inch reach), and sound in the ring. For the most part, both of these guys have run through their opposition.

So we’ve got, in the words of Gorilla Monsoon, the indestructible force meeting the immovable object. Someone’s going to lose here. If either of these fights has a chance of going to a draw, it’s probably not this one. So somebody will be more than just tested.

Well, assuming Ortiz makes it to the fight without another failed drug test. And with Wilder’s luck, let’s not count that out.

Joshua vs Parker

An intriguing unification, but certainly with a favorite. Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KO) has established himself for most as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. He’s shown more in 20 fights than Wilder has in almost 40.

Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KO) is an unbeaten titleholder, but he doesn’t carry the aura these other fighters do, and it’s not because he’s from New Zealand and doesn’t have the same exposure. We’ve seen him fight. He scraped past both Andy Ruiz Jr and Hughie Fury in debatable decisions, and even his best win, over Carlos Takam, was more a result of Takam beating himself than Parker doing anything truly decisive.

Parker can fight, but Joshua seems on another level. Of course, you may disagree, and even if you don’t, we might just be wrong.

So what’s the better fight? What are you looking forward to more between these two matchups?