Anthony Joshua could have one more fight before the year is out if a fight with Deontay Wilder does not get made.
That is according to Eddie Hearn. In the aftermath of Joshua stopping Robert Helenius in the seventh round, Hearn was confident that Wilder would be next. So much so that he expected the deal to be finalized in the next three weeks. However, since then, the talks over a Wilder fight have gone quiet.
In addition, the ‘Bronze Bomber’ has not fought in around a year since he also stopped Helenius in the first round. Therefore, would the American want to jump straight into the AJ fight without any preparation? Regardless of what the case may be, Hearn is sticking with a clear plan for AJ moving forward.
“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,” Hearn
In reality, an AJ-Wilder fight has been talked about since 2019 when the Brit could have fought the American for undisputed. However, the fight never got made as both boxers lost their respective belts moving forward. And a further delay will only infuriate boxing fans further.
AJ vs. Fury
And yet, those plans may change. That is according to Tony Bellew. The former cruiserweight champion has claimed that talks with Wilder have stopped, as a fight with Tyson Fury is now being considered in Africa. This would be a massive shock since Wilder had confirmed that talks with AJ over a two-fight deal in Africa were taking place. However, Bellew admitted that the plan may have changed.
“I am hearing rumours that [talks between AJ & Wilder’s camps] have stopped at the minute and [AJ’s camp] are looking more towards Fury vs AJ again instead of AJ and Wilder. The talk is of another fight going to Africa, which would be absolutely incredible. Rumble in the Jungle all over again in Zaire or something along those lines,” Bellew