Eddie Hearn says he’s going to contact manager Shelly Finkel to try and put together a fight between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua next or the one after in 2023.
(Photo credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Hearn admits that he’s keen on matching Dillian Whyte against Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) next, despite the widely held belief that ‘The Body Snatcher’ deserved a defeat last Saturday night against Jermaine Franklin in London.
With Hearn badly wanting to match Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs) against Joshua, it’s questionable whether he’ll put much effort into trying to put a fight together between former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) next.
There’s too much risk involved for Joshua to face a guy like Wilder, and it would be a disaster for AJ to get knocked out in one or two rounds by ‘The Bronze Bomber.’
Still, it would be far better for Joshua’s career to fight Deontay Wilder next rather than a tainted Whyte, who many boxing fans thought was given a hometown decision over Franklin last weekend in London, England.
If Joshua is more focused on easy money and getting a sure-thing win, the 34-year-old Whyte is the way to go. But if Joshua chooses Whyte, it’ll be a domestic-level clash because U.S. boxing fans won’t get excited about that match-up.
That would be the equivalent of this weekend’s match between Tyson Fury and the journeyman Derek Chisora. Whyte is a slightly taller version of Chisora but with a weaker chin and worse fundamentals.
“Maybe they’re trying to push the [Andy] Ruiz fight a little bit, or maybe they want it. I have to reach out to Shelly [Finkel] today,” said Eddie Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show about Deontay Wilder’s management being interested in facing Anthony Joshua next.
“There are a lot of options for Deontay Wilder. Firstly, I have the Anthony Joshua fight, which is a massive fight for Deontay Wilder. I also have the Dillian Whyte fight. I’d still like to make Dillian Whyte against Deontay Wilder.
“I’d be happy to look at both of those fights. At the moment, AJ’s plans are he is due to fight in late March, and we’re locking that in. Could that be Wilder? Possibly. I’m open to that conversation.
“In my head, because of the Andy Ruiz situation and everything, it was one for the summer or certainly 2023. We’re more than willing to have that conversation.
“Obviously, Dillian Whyte’s win during the weekend sort of opens up that situation for Whyte against AJ, but we also understand that AJ against Deontay Wilder is one of the biggest fights in boxing.
“So definitely, we’d be open to making that fight next or even the one after,” said Hearn.
The way that Hearn’s eyes lite up when talking about Whyte as a potential next opponent for Joshua, he would appear to be the frontrunner for AJ’s next fight.
Hearn wants the Joshua-Whyte II rematch in the same way he was eager to match Canelo Alvarez against the faded 40-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin last September instead of making the rematch between the Mexican star and Dmitry Bivol.