ANALYSIS: Sharing the ring with one of the hardest-punching heavyweights in boxing’s long and bloody history, Joseph Parker knew he needed to deliver a near-perfect display.

And that’s precisely what he did, outclassing Deontay Wilder across 12 one-sided rounds in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night (Sunday NZT) to give his once floundering career a huge shot in the arm.

It was easily the best performance of Parker’s 11-year stint in the professional ranks, trumping even that historic night in Auckland in December 2016 when he edged Andy Ruiz to be crowned New Zealand’s first ever heavyweight world champion.

That was a legitimately close contest that could have gone either way. This, despite Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) ludicrously raising his arms in triumph at the end, was a procession.

Two of the ringside judges had Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) winning by scores of 118-111 and 118-110, while the third saw it as a complete shutout (120-108), underlining how dominant the Kiwi had been.

From the first bell, Parker made a mockery of his underdog status with bookmakers and pundits alike by taking the fight to a rusty Wilder and constantly putting his rival on the backfoot.

He used feints to bob and weave his way into range and showed excellent head movement to avoid any incoming fire from a gun-shy Wilder.

Indeed, it was Parker – whose punching power has frequently been questioned – who did the more damage, having Wilder in serious trouble in a torrid eighth round in which he landed a flurry of heavy blows that sent the American staggering across the ring.

Wilder’s much-vaunted right hand was never really a factor as Parker kept calm and executed the gameplan drawn up by his trainer Andy Lee to the letter.

“I’m back!” a delighted Parker declared after the result was read out, thanking his team and good mate Tyson Fury for his advice on how to strike gold against the ‘Bronze Bomber’.

Who would have thought that Parker would be in this position, having opened the year with that lethargic points win over career cruiserweight Jack Massey.

Yet he went back to the drawing board and rebuilt his shattered confidence with two quick wins over Faiga ‘Django’ Opelu in May and Simon Kean in October.

On paper, Wilder represented a massive step-up in class, but in reality he proved to be a walk in the park for a dialled-in Parker, who managed to stay switched on for the entire 36 minutes and silence his growing number of doubters.

Those who laughed when he talked about returning to the heavyweight summit and becoming a two-time champion certainly aren’t laughing now.

By upsetting Wilder, Parker has blown the division wide open while also derailing barely concealed plans to finally match the American against British superstar Anthony Joshua in March in one of the sport’s most marketable match-ups.

Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) kept his side of the bargain by battering Otto Wallin in the main event, but with Wilder failing to keep his, Parker seemed poised to get another crack at the man who ended his brief title reign in Cardiff six years ago.

That could still be the case, though it’s far from cut-and-dried, with several moving parts in play before the historic undisputed clash between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for all the heavyweight marbles in February.

Usyk holds the IBF, WBO and WBA titles while Fury is the WBC champion. With a sequel between the pair almost guaranteed whatever the result, the winner will likely be forced to vacate the IBF title, for which Croatian Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) is the mandatory challenger.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has made it clear that he would like to match the No 2-ranked Brit against Hrgovic – who was victorious on the undercard – should that scenario play out, to give him a chance of becoming a three-time world champion.

A fight with Parker – whom Joshua beat comfortably albeit with the aid of an overzealous referee – holds far less appeal for the Englishman, who is hungry for more silverware.

“It was a tough decision between the [IBF] championship and Deontay Wilder. We signed for Deontay Wilder, he lost tonight,” Hearn said when asked what’s next for Joshua.

“But maybe it’s a blessing, because really this guy is about championships. He wants to become a three-time heavyweight world champion. Now Otto Wallin was No 2 in the division, it’s gonna be Hrgovic against AJ for the world title.”

That obviously leaves Parker out in the cold somewhat, despite just recording his finest victory to date.

Although the 31-year-old won’t be short of lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia and beyond after putting on a boxing masterclass that ended any lingering doubts over whether he belongs at the top table.

After exposing Wilder at the Kingdom Arena, Parker is now in a position to call his own shots and choose whichever path he wants to go down.

Already nestled inside the top 10 with all the major sanctioning bodies, his rankings will no doubt receive a further boost in the coming weeks, moving him a step closer to another tilt at world honours.

Of course, his close friendship with Fury complicates matters further, with both men repeatedly stating they will never fight each other. So if the ‘Gypsy King’ beats Usyk to hold all four belts, Parker’s own title ambitions would have to be put on hold.

But after four fights in an intense 12 months, plus a reported $10 million payday against Wilder, Parker can afford to sit back, relax and weigh up his options while the heavyweight order he helped shatter is pieced back together.