The ‘Day of Reckoning’ is done and, by the following morning, the desert dust settled on a very different heavyweight landscape.

Questions swirled around Anthony Joshua all week.

Why was the two-time unified heavyweight champion uninterested in talking to the media? Why had he decided to work with yet another new trainer in Ben Davision? Having lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk, how would he deal with another southpaw in Otto Wallin? Above all, the specter of Deontay Wilder loomed large, a fight already apparently signed and sealed for the first part of 2024. 

Throughout it all, the two-time unified heavyweight champion remained laser focused on the task at hand, beating Wallin.

Whilst Joshua answered every question by dominating Wallin for five rounds, forcing the Swede’s corner to withdraw their fighter, Wilder never came close to figuring out the problems Joseph Parker posed him. The New Zealander easily tamed Wilder and cantered to a one-sided unanimous decision victory.

Joshua’s 2024 roadmap took a dramatic turn. Rather than engaging in a big money, highly anticipated shootout with Wilder, Joshua seems likely to face unbeaten Croatian, Filip Hrgovic. Once Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have unified the heavyweight division in February, the IBF title looks certain to be vacated and beating Wallin should put Joshua in prime position for a shot at the belt.

Saturday’s events open up a whole range of possibilities, however, and after an excellent display in his first outing under his new trainer, Ben Davison, Joshua will head into the New Year in his best form for some time.

“He’s not a veteran of the sport because he’s still young but when he spoke, he saw what I’ve been trying to achieve in the business,” Joshua said of Davison at the post-fight press conference.

“You know when someone understands you and a lightbulb comes on and you just finally get it? That was it. He still pushed me towards trying to achieve what I’m achieving. He hasn’t changed me. He’s pushed me but because he knows boxing, he knows what I’m trying to achieve and how to get it out of me in a way. You’ll have to ask him but I don’t want him to say too much because he’s quite articulate and we’ll give away quite a lot but he switched a lightbulb on in me this training camp.”

And what about Wilder? Maybe ‘The Bronze Bomber’ knew in his heart of hearts that the raging fire that made him such a dangerous fighter had been reduced to embers. Maybe he thought the adrenaline of fight night would reignite it. Maybe - at 38 years old - Wilder has just reached the end physically. Whatever the reason for his docile performance, the American certainly cut a more reflective figure in Riyadh.

Wilder provided the heavyweight division with much needed drama when it needed it the most. He will have to decide whether to call time on a thrilling career.

Joshua has had to rebuild from his own high profile defeats. He didn’t address Wilder’s future directly but did praise two other fighters who rebounded from defeat and disappointment to cover themselves in glory on the weekend show. 

“I think it’s amazing what Parker done [against Wilder],” he said. “He came up short against Joe Joyce. he showed resilience pays off. Daniel Dubois came up short a few times. He showed resilience and it paid off.  You only give up when that competition, that competitive spirit inside yourself dies. I’m a fierce competitor. You can ask my pals. Whether it’s spelling games, whether it’s chess. Whatever it may be we all compete with each other. I think you should always try and find that winning streak again, even if you’re coming up short a few times.”