Unbeaten heavyweight star Anthony Joshua, the reigning WBA/IBF champ, is hoping his next fight will be signed and sealed before the end of the month, but at the same time he is urging Wladimir Klitschko to get a move on and confirm if he will be his next opponent or not.
Promoter Eddie Hearn today told Sky Sports how he thinks that “by the end of next week, we will have a final decision in terms of venue and opponent,” explaining how he believes it will be Klitschko next for AJ. Hearn said there remain “some interesting dynamics to the commercials of the deal,” to be sorted out, but that he is optimistic it will be Joshua-Klitschko II in Vegas on November 11.
Joshua, who told The Associated Press the April battle he had with Klitschko was “fun,” wants to get busy with his next training camp. And Joshua says a fight with Klitschko in Vegas “opens the door for the [Deontay] Wilder fight.”
“If we fought November 11, starting August 22 is a three-month camp, so towards the end of the month, one way or the other [I’m expecting to know who I’ll be fighting] because I’ve got to crack on,” Joshua said. “It was just fun, it was just entertaining. I’d do it again, definitely. And going to Vegas opens the door for the Wilder fight.”
Joshua said that if he were in Klitschko’s shoes, he’d take the rematch, and with it another chance to get back on top. Joshua spoke of how even in defeat Klitschko earned a ton of fan respect. Of course, AJ fully believes he will beat Klitschko a second time if and when they meet for a sequel. Most fans agree with such thinking, and the Wilder fight, a WBA/IBF/WBC unification showdown, is something every fight fan wants to see.
Wilder, expected to be back in action in November (as per ESPN.com; Wilder’s opponent still TBA) wants the fight as much as Joshua wants it. A Joshua-Klitschko II in Vegas would be big. A Joshua-Wilder shoot-out in Vegas would be massive. And in no way could this fight go the distance.