Heavyweight contender Deontay Wilder offered praise to his most recent opponent, Joseph Parker.

The two former world champions collided in a high-stakes bout last Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Wilder, a huge favorite, was outboxed and outworked over twelve rounds of action.

Parker walked away with a lopsided unanimous decision win, and spoiled Wilder's scheduled mega-bout with Anthony Joshua - targeted by promoters to take place on a March date in Saudi Arabia.

Wilder revealed that he's actually very friendly with Parker.

“Parker said he ain’t never had a six pack until he knew he was going to fight me. He texted me and people don’t know that me and Parker have a relationship, he texts me," Wilder explained to 78 Sports TV.

“He told me thank you for the opportunity for the fight, what a great fight and I told him congratulations bro, I hope you enjoy the win with your family.

"We never had no beef with each other, we knew each other before all of this stuff, he’s such a nice man, he’s such a nice person. If I would lose coming back to somebody it would be him ten times over, a thousand times over because he’s just such a nice guy.”

In the aftermath of the bout, Wilder took to social media and explained that he should have been more active in the fight - in terms of his lack of offense.

Wilder, 38-years-old, was fighting for the first time in over a year, and only saw a single round of action since 2021.

“We came out short tonight. You know what, I don’t know what happened, to be honest. My timing was off, and I didn’t throw my punches, I didn’t let my hands go like I was supposed to. Sometimes you get like that. But you live to see another fight. You live to see another moment," Wilder said.

“I’m still full of happiness, still full of joy, still full of smiles. Sorry if I let anyone down but we will be back though! That’s the thing about it. I thank you so much for the love and support I’ve got out here in Riyadh and from all my fans around the world. I appreciate you so much. This is not the end, and I will be back.”