EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Hearn confirms Deontay Wilder’s £40m offer to fight Anthony Joshua… but blames the American’s camp for failing to send a contract for the fight not being made

• Wilder blamed Joshua’s Matchroom promoters for stopping a fight being made
• Hearn responded by insisting the American’s camp had failed to sent a contract 
• Why Anthony Joshua turned down Deontay Wilder’s £40million offer – The Hook 

Eddie Hearn has confirmed Deontay Wilder’s claim he offered $50million (£40m) fight Anthony Joshua, but insists the showdown failed to materialise after the American’s camp failed to send a contract.

Former heavyweight champion Wilder is due to fight on the same December 23 card in Saudi Arabia as Joshua but not against one another as had been hoped. Briton Joshua will fight Otto Wallin and Wilder will take on Joseph Parker.

Wilder told Mail Sport’s The Hook podcast last week that Joshua had turned down the offer, while he also pointed the finger at the Briton’s Matchroom promoters.

‘It’s his management that have held him back from fighting me because, you know, he’s a fighter. It’s been over six years (waiting for the fight to be made). But there comes a point in time we’re you’re like, “Forget it”,’ Wilder said.

‘Many times he wanted to fight, he wanted to accept it but his handlers didn’t want it because Joshua is the money-maker for the company. And if he goes down, so does the business.’

Deontay Wilder, right, claimed Anthony Joshua’s promoters had stopped a fight being made

Eddie Hearn told Mail Sport that Wilder’s camp had failed to send a contract to seal the fight

Hearn, responding to the Wilder’s comments to Mail Sport, confirmed Wilder’s team had directly sent an offer to Joshua.

The promoter insisted that a contract needed to be sent for an agreement to be finalised, but Wilder’s camp failed to do so.

‘To be honest with you, that was about three, four years ago. No one came to us with an offer. We received an email,’ Hearn said.

‘I mean, me and Deontay are friends so I don’t want to hard, but we received an email from a Hotmail address saying we will give you 50million dollars for the fight. It was sent to Anthony Joshua. Directly. He was like “what”. 

‘So, I went back and said send the contract. They went no, you need to agree terms before we send the contract. I said you don’t agree terms before sending the contract. 

‘I didn’t know what was the contract looks like at this point. I’m not going to put myself in a position and say yes I agree terms and then receive a contract that is just rubbish and you can’t sign it. But, they never sent it. 

‘There’s a lot of reasons why that fight didn’t happen but we have to look to the future. 

‘We have a big chance of getting the fight. But, it’s all irrelevant if they don’t win on December 23.’

Joshua could yet face Wilder should both boxers come through their fights on December 23

The expectation is that Joshua and Wilder will meet in the New Year in Riyadh on the condition they both win their respective fights on December 23.

An agreement on the Day of Reckoning card was reached after Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s fight was pushed back from December 23 to February 17.

Hearn and long-time rival Frank Warren put their long-term rivalry aside to deliver the blockbuster line-up in Saudi Arabia.

The rival promoters met for the first time when confirming the line-up. 

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