Live Commentary: Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker - as it happened

Good evening everyone and thank you for joining us for another huge night in the history of contemporary heavyweight boxing. In an hour or so Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KO) will be coming up against Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KO) as the pair fight to unify the WBA, IBF and WBO titles at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

What an evening we have on our hands as these two young, driven and ultimately undefeated fighters go to toe-to-toe in front of almost 80,000 people with three titles up for grabs. Heavyweight boxing is truly back from the depths of monotony and Joshua has arguably led the way in that revival in recent years.

Around 78,000 fans are expected at the Principality Stadium tonight as we experience the first heavyweight unification bout held on British soil. Joshua will be putting his WBA and IBF titles on the line, while Parker is offering up his WBO crown.

Joshua first became a heavyweight world champion back in 2016, by making light work of Charles Martin to claim the IBF crown courtesy of a commanding second-round knockout.

The former Olympic prodigy then went on to earn another huge title by claiming the vacant WBA crown, thanks to an epic comeback victory over Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium last April.

Round five of that fight was likely one of the best rounds of boxing in the last decade. You can relive the round with the highlights below, as Joshua came out of his shell to put Klitschko on the canvas during a battle of truly historic proportions:

What followed that round was testament to Joshua's character, as he was sent to the deck in the sixth before recovering to demonstrate remarkable guile and attitude to fend off his opponent, before going back in for the kill in the latter rounds to earn his stoppage win against the veteran.

Joshua has so far had 20 professional fights and is quickly becoming one of Britain's most memorable heavyweights. The 28-year-old has become a central component in boxing's return to the forefront of Britain's sporting consciousness. After a period of arguable heavyweight stasis in the UK, the picture of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium last spring will go down as a historic moment in the sport's contemporary history.

Joshua's professionalism, sporting nouse and undeniable talent has the current IBF and WBA champion leading a PR charge that has got the nation, and the rest of the world, excited about a number of potential contests on the horizon. Should Joshua beat Parker this evening, the 28-year-old has the potential to fight the division's only other recognised major champion in Deontay Wilder, who is surely the next matchup for the victor at the Principality Stadium.

Having said that, Brixton's own Dillian Whyte recently beat Lucas Browne and the British-born Jamaican now looks likely to be Wilder's next challenger before this evening's winner gets a potential shot at the American. Should that fight happen and Whyte pull off a shock victory, we could be looking at an entirely different matchup to unify all of the major belts in the division at some point in the future.

Added to that is the potential return of the mercurial Tyson Fury, a personal friend of Parker, who could take part in the New Zealander's ring-walk a little later tonight.

So looking at the contest ahead of us here, Joshua is older, bigger and stronger than his opponent. But you do have to remember that he is also slower than Parker. Throwing too many heavy shots without registering or doing damage will likely suit Parker as the fight moves forward.

Klitschko has obviously been Joshua's toughest opponent so far, but Parker does represent something that Joshua has not quite fought before. One thing we do know is that Parker loves fast combination work, quick movement and is arguably one of Joshua's steeliest opponents to date. The two fighters have shown a great deal of respect for each other, despite the pathetic war of words that has rumbled away between their respective promoters.

The amount of weight shed for the final weigh-in is just one of the many indications that point towards two of the world's hungriest heavyweight fighters around, who are prepared to do all they can to come out victorious in Wales.

Joshua weighed just 17st 4lbs on Friday, not his lightest ever weight, but it is in fact twelve pounds lighter than he weighed for his title defence against Carlos Takam last October. This is the lightest that Joshua has been since 2014. As you would expect from Joshua, he has done plenty of homework and his weight for this fight perhaps demonstrates his respect for Parker's pace across the canvas.

One element that will certainly give Parker some confidence is the amount of time and distance he has put into the ring during his short career. Parker's last three fights have gone the full twelve, while Joshua has never had to go the whole distance.

The New Zealander is fast and tends to have great feet, both in strong positioning to land his shots, but also in his movement to manoeuvre his opponents around the ring. Parker has put the work into 123 rounds across his 24-fight career. Joshua's success on the world stage has seen him stop most of his professional fights early, meaning that he has been put through just 65 rounds in 20 fights.

POVETKIN KNOCKS OUT PRICE IN THE FIFTH! So in the final bout of the undercard, Britain's own David Price has just been floored in the fifth round by Russian champion Alexander Povetkin. Price had put up excellent resistance against the Russia, but has just been tagged by an absolute beauty that has left Liverpudlian requiring a bit of oxygen on the deck. Joshua and Parker will be out next. Sometime between 10.15pm and 10.45pm.

Parker's strongest test arguably came against Carlos Takam back in the summer of 2016, when Parker beat his opponent courtesy of a unanimous points decision. His two following fights saw Parker knock out both Solomon Haumono and Alexander Dimitrenko.

Three points-decision wins then followed for the New Zealander, who had to put in real work to get past Andy Ruiz Jr, Razvan Cojanu and then beyond Hughie Fury in September of last year. That Fury fight will leave some scratching their heads as to why some people see Parker as an outside bet here, as he was rather labour-intensive and tepid during that plodding victory against Tyson's brother.

Both fighters have suggested in the build-up that this could potentially be a fight that sees rounds indebted to technical skill and methodical planning, potentially seeing the fight go all the way. Having said that, it is very difficult to look beyond Joshua's drive and commitment displayed against Klitschko and that determination could see the Englishman move to stop proceedings in their tracks at short notice. This contest has many possible routes to it.

WHYTE CALLS OUT POVETKIN! So after that win for Povetkin, it looks as if the two boxers have now agreed to meet each other at some time in the near future. That puts a stop to any speculative talk of Wilder vs. Whyte then...

With Joshua the favourite here, what can Parker do to influence this fight? At times Joshua has shown a hint of vulnerability to the left hook - a shot that Parker tends to fancy and has been working on during his training camp in the US.

Joshua will likely want to be the aggressor this evening and set the tone early with lots of positive work on the jab. Parker has never competed in front of a crowd like this one and putting early pressure on the New Zealander could pay off for the WBA and IBF champion.

While we wait for the boxers to enter the ring, take a quick look at this brilliant piece of TV from Sky Sports Boxing that puts the two fighters together face-to-face in a room with Johnny Nelson as mediator:

Much has been made of the glass-chin debate, but what we do know is that Joshua has a six-inch edge in reach over Parker, leaving Joshua with a decent option of working much of this fight from the outside without having to get too involved in the dangerous inside battles against a man with very fast hands.

Eye of the Tiger is now ringing out around a booming Principality Stadium with the best part of 80,000 people bellowing the words. We have a brilliant atmosphere as you would expect here. We are just moments away from the ring-walks!

Video screens around the stadium are showing clips of the fighters' build-ups to this contest. Things are truly electric in Cardiff tonight.

PREDICTION! Prior to the weigh-ins, it looked likely that these two fighters might just go the whole distance. Having seen Joshua shed so much weight, though, it perhaps indicates that he might just be going in to end this contest within the allotted timeframe. I'm backing Joshua for a mid-rounds stoppage, but expect to see some adroit technical work from Parker, who should give a fantastic account of himself.

Here we go then, Michael Buffer makes the first announcement as he introduces WBO champion Parker into the ring. Big boos ring out from this hospitable, but respectable, sold-out crowd.

As expected, Parker enters with two Samoan supporters occupy either side of him. The crowd booms out cries of "Oh, Anthony Joshua!" as Parker makes his way into the ring.

Such is Joshua's calibre, he is expected to earn an estimated £15m here and has sold out a third stadium event in 11 months, taking the total of sold seats to a quarter of a million over that period!

And here he comes, Joshua strides out to an entrance that begins with Queen's Another One Bites the Dust and concludes in a rendition of Eric B. & Rakim's Pump Up the Volume... Fire and all from the WBA and IBF champion again too.

He's still making his way down to the ring, this is every bit as dramatic as you might expect inside the Principality Stadium, which is really rocking now. Parker must be having the time of his life here.

Remember, Joshua remains the outstanding favourite here, but plenty of money has also gone on Parker as the outsider's bet. Can he pull off the unthinkable? We'll be underway soon.

Time for the anthems and then we should be off. Buffer is likely cueing up his world-famous introduction for the fight. They do not come much better than this!

We're into God Save the Queen, not long now... Joshua is sparing in the background, he looks intensely focused on this contest.

Here we go, Buffer introduces the fight. "Let's get ready to rumble..." The fighters punch gloves in respect and we are moving in Wales. Can Joshua take all three belts and take his record to 21 wins from 21 bouts? Will he keep his knockout record too, or can Parker spring the surprise to end all surprises?

Both men set about testing each other with the jab, Parker aiming to get in and out early on. The New Zealander is throwing the majority of the jab work as they open up, with both fighters deciding just to take a good, hard look at each other. Joshua pushes Parker towards the ropes and lands a nice right hand to put the WBO holder under pressure. Joshua finishes strongly with a left hook and a body shot as he stands central in the ring and works his opponent around in circles.

Joshua's reach has Parker on the back foot from the off as AJ shows some impeccable control and ring dominance first up in the second offering. There's a slight bit of blood to the nose of Parker already and he is struggling to get in close to Joshua, who is holding him off with a perfect jab. Joshua's reach is causing all sorts of issues for the New Zealander as he finds it difficult to get in tight on the towering Brit. It doesn't stop him from throwing a few power moves, though, but Joshua keeps up a high guard and looks untroubled.

Controlled work from Joshua at the start of round three, again clever and adroit jab work from the 28-year-old. His physical advantages are already telling here as his reach and height have Parker backing off as Joshua drills a lovely combination. The Brit still looks only in second gear but he lands another great combo to leave Parker looking slightly jaded after three. Joshua's speed and power looks devastating at the moment, he's moving with remarkable speed.

Parker is not looking comfortable and he fails again to find his reach, Joshua planting a flush jab straight into his face. Parker is in no-man's land on the outside here and is paying for it at the moment. Joshua continues with more comfortable and correct work from the centre of the ring, pushing Parker about and working off his jabbing left. Joshua is likely four ahead already.

Joshua's left is running things so far and Parker needs to get his movement sorted. A few good combos give the visitor some confidence as he goes rugged into his opponent, but Joshua is soon back at it with continual strong jabbing with his left. Parker finally sets himself with some nice movement and causes Joshua to miss. A very close round, but one that will be a big confidence booster for the New Zealander.

The referee has to get involved with a time-out early on as Parker goes hell for leather with some brutal work on the ropes. They both get as good as they give, though, and Joshua soon comes back with a monstrous right hand that catches Parker off guard. Both fighters are applying the gas now. Parker looks quite happy with his work as he ramps up the speed with some effective combinations to finish the round off.

Slippery work from Parker early on in the seventh has the New Zealander moving nicely. The referee gives Joshua a talking too after a late upper cut, but there's no penalty despite the slight break. The official might just be breaking these men a little too early at times. If it's going to be a reins fight, it'll surely favour Joshua. Parker is continuing to be backed up on the jab, but he does not look too concerned. This is tight!

More splitting up from the referee, which is disappointing as neither fighter is allowed to get close on the inside and open up. This is a boxing match, you know... Joshua is slowing down slightly in the eighth and Parker looks nicely set for this pace in the final few rounds. Finally, Joshua moves in with a beautiful left hand and Parker is forced to eat it all. Far too much breaking up from the referee in this match, though.

Joshua finally goes for the same upper cut that unhinged Klitschko last year, but it does not connect this time. AJ is back into the centre of the ring again and is now working the jab comfortably again. Joshua is complaining of a head-butt and he is soon back in his corner having his gloves strapped again. The crowd get behind their man but he is growing frustrated. Parker's hand speed comes alive, but it is hard to tell whether they're scoring shots or not. I just about have Joshua ahead now, but it's very close and you cannot account for subjectiveness in this game.

Joshua lands flush early on with a smart combo and a cut opens up around Parker's left eye. Nothing too special from Joshua here as he continues to work off the left jab, and it's stopping Parker from finding much of a rhythm. No signs of Joshua gassing though, he looks fit and healthy heading into the final three rounds. Joshua starts to threaten some big ones as a huge left just misses. Finally some fireworks, but nothing major still.

More strong jabbing from Joshua and it's still keeping Parker at bay whenever he tries to find the inside, he isn't being helped by the referee either who is far too quick on the draw. Still no big moves from either man, just plenty of neat footwork from both men. Both men exchange strong hooks to end the round, but this is definitely going the full distance. Signs of pockets of fire, but once again nothing gets into motion.

Joshua off on the front foot again as he continues to jab his way towards victory. It's still penetrating and scoring points on occasion. Parker needs to take the risks in my book and he tries to open up with a combo that sees Joshua clench his way to safety. Joshua registers a few on the body from range just as Parker drops off and lets him in. Joshua finishes strongly by pushing Parker to the ropes. Joshua finishes up pushing his man onto the ropes with more probing jab work. Awful refereeing really, he has stopped this fight from evolving. It's going to points, we'll bring the the judges scorecards as soon as they come in. Joshua looks likely to have this in the bag, but you never know...

So as you might have expected, all three of the judges score in favour of Joshua, who now has 21 wins from 21 heavyweight fights, with 20 knockouts and one unanimous points decision. That now leaves Joshua holding the WBA, IBF and WBO crowns.

You have to admit, however, that this fight could have been a lot more interesting had the referee allowed proceedings to develop a little more. Giuseppe Quartarone stopped things far too early on. People wanted to see a blockbuster here, but instead they got little more than a safe sparring contest. Joshua will not mind, though, he has the three belts he wanted and a potential fight with Wilder awaits. That's going to be all from me tonight, thanks for joining us!