Eddie Hearn 'confirms Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder fight'
Eddie Hearn confirms a deal is ‘pretty much in place’ for Anthony Joshua’s fight against Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia in December… as the Matchroom promoter ‘expecting a formal offer in the next week’
- Eddie Hearn reportedly expects a formal deal to be offered to Anthony Joshua
- AJ previously confirmed the fight would take place in a video posted in April
- Hearn has also revealed Joshua could face Dillian Whyte in an August rematch
A fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder is almost completely confirmed, according to reports.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is thought to have confirmed the clash will go ahead, with Saudi Arabia set to play host, with Joshua having won one and lost the other of his two trips to the Gulf nation.
Hearn claimed in conversation with The Mac that the mouth-watering showdown would take place in December, and that he anticipates a formal offer for his fighter to come in the coming week.
This comes just a month after Joshua himself confirmed that he would be facing Wilder in December.
In a video posted on social media, the British heavyweight was asked whether he would be taking on the American at the end of 2023, and he can be heard saying: ‘That’s what’s happening, you know what’s going on.
Eddie Hearn reportedly confirmed that a fight between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua would take place in December
Joshua (right) came back from a seven-month absence with a unanimous decision win over Jermaine Franklin (left) in April
American Wilder was last in action with a win over Finland’s Robert Helenius in October 2022
‘It’s public news we’re getting it down, throwing it down in December.’
A fight between Joshua and Wilder – both considered among the four best heavyweight fighters in the world – would likely prove a lucrative prospect for all involved.
The 33-year-old returned to the ring in April after a seven-month absence with a unanimous decision win over American fighter Jermaine Franklin at the O2 arena.
He had last been in action in Saudi Arabia, falling to a split-decision loss to Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk, who took hold of Joshua’s WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts.
But his possible future opponent Wilder appeared to be in jubilant mood at the prospect of taking on Joshua, describing it as a ‘dream fight’.
He told iFL TV: ‘We got a lot of different options right now at this moment in time. Joshua, everybody.
‘I think a lot of people is going to get that dream fight everyone wants to see.’
While Usyk has proven to have the measure of Joshua, Wilder has fallen afoul of Tyson Fury in two of his previous three fights, beating Robert Helenius in his most recent outing in October.
Wilder has spoken of the potential blockbuster clash as a ‘dream fight’ in Saudi Arabia
All four of Joshua, Fury, Wilder and Usyk could find themselves in Saudi Arabia, with Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum insisting the Gypsy King will meet the Ukrainian in the Middle East – irrespective of whether the 38-year-old organises a different fight.
‘I really think any of the money that anybody’s talking about for that fight pales in comparison to what they could make in the Middle East,’ he told ProBox TV.
‘They’re waiting now, both fighters, for the end of the year, to fight each other in the Middle East, because that’s where the big money is.
‘Right now I think he’s going to wait (to fight), but with Tyson Fury it depends on how he wakes up in the morning.’
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