Will former heavyweight champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua fight each other next? It’s been spoken of, as we know, for the Middle East – first in December, then the date switched to January. Now, Eddie Hearn, speaking once again with IFL TV, says there is a chance AJ could box in December if the Wilder fight is not finalised for December or January.
Hearn said that, should the Wilder fight be pushed to February or March, “we will probably fight in December.” A good many fans are sceptical about seeing a Joshua-Wilder fight, with these fans having an ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ attitude. And it’s likely Hearn’s latest comments will serve to reinforce this way of thinking.
“Talks are ongoing,” Hearn said with regards to the heavyweight blockbuster between the two former champs. “We are still in the same position of a January fight. If we don’t conclude that fight and they talk about moving it to February or March, we will probably fight in December. Wilder is talking about fighting in October but it’s September now. He (AJ) will wait to fight Wilder in January. He’s training now. He wants to fight in December. If they turned around and said, ‘let’s do the Wilder fight in December,’ he’d do it. But everybody is talking like it’s happening, but until it’s happening it ain’t on. Until it’s on, we’ll keep out options open for December. Ideally, we’d like to go straight into the Wilder fight.”
This is the fight fans want to see, not the two former champs engaging in respective tune-up fights. But Hearn is talking about AJ fighting a “Dillian [Whyte] or [Robert] Helenius level” opponent in December if the Wilder fight is not done.
But again, will Wilder Vs. Joshua ever get done? To be honest, from what Hearn has said, it’s not exactly looking great. Why the delay? Weren’t the Saudi money men in town during the Joshua-Helenius fight, the deal supposedly close to being all wrapped up? Apparently not.