Wilder And Joshua In Discussions For Separate Bouts On December Card In Saudi Arabia

According to reports, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder are in talks to have separate fights on a December 23rd, 2023, Saudi Arabia boxing card.

Dan Rafael has confirmed that Turki Alalshikh, who presides over the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, is behind the talks. The latter was responsible for putting on the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou fight on October 28th, 2023. The December date had initially been reserved for the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk bout, only for the fight to be moved on to next year, with February 2024 looking likely, subject to an announcement.

‼️ Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder are reportedly in talks to have separate fights on the same card on Dec 23rd in Saudi Arabia, setting up a potential clash in 2024. It’s claimed Dmitry Bivol could also return on this show as part of Riyadh Season. [According to @DanRafael1] pic.twitter.com/5dcCrFuktK

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) November 11, 2023

This naturally begs the question: Who could Joshua and Wilder face? The former has been linked with fighting Filip Hrgovic, Otto Wallin or Agit Kabayel. As of now, Wallin appears to be the favorite.

“Anthony Joshua would fight Otto Wallin in the main event of the pay-per-view,” Dan Rafael

Meanwhile, the latter could face Zhilei Zhang, Joseph Parker or Andy Ruiz Jr. as reports stress that the Bronze Bomber is in talks with the Mexican. And currently Parker appears to be the front runner.

“Former WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder would square off with former WBO titleholder Joseph Parker in the co-feature,” Rafael

In addition to Wilder and Joshua, Dmitry Bivol is also allegedly under consideration for the card. The WBA light heavyweight champion has not fought since he beat Zurdo Ramirez in 2022. And the name being mentioned for Bivol is Richard Rivera. Meanwhile, Daniel Dubois is expected to be on the card with Jarrell Miller being linked.

And to round things off, Frank Sanchez vs. Junior Fa has been suggested. Those reports come in the aftermath of Frank Warren confirming that there would be a big night of boxing coming up in December. However, the Queensbury Promoter remained coy on giving any actual names.

“There’s gonna be a big night in December. We’ll be announcing it very soon and it will be massive. You’re gonna love it, I promise you you’re gonna love it. I can’t give you all the information at the moment, but everything’s going in the right direction for something to be a historical night of boxing. It’s gonna feature boxers from all over the world. You will be surprised by the names. There’s some great fights involving British fighters too,” Warren said