Will Anthony Joshua Fight Deontay Wilder Or Dillian Whyte Next?
Joshua has been linked to fights with either of them.
The latest updates on the heavyweight division can be confusing.
On Monday, Shelly Finkel, the co-manager of Deontay Wilder, said that the boxer is ready and willing to fight Anthony Joshua next. Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, reportedly backed the statement saying that he’s also interested in his boxer taking on Wilder.
But there’s no straight path to one another.
Wilder was recently ordered by the WBC to fight Andy Ruiz Jr next in a heavyweight title eliminator.
For Joshua, he and Hearn have been searching for his next opponent, but Hearn said back in October – and earlier this month – that Joshua is close to considering a rematch with Dillian Whyte.
Joshua technically knocked out Whyte in 2015 in the seventh round. He then went on to win the IBF, IBO and WBA heavyweight titles from Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, but would lose them in 2019 to Ruiz.
In their rematch, Ruiz lost and Joshua regained the belts. But the Brit would lose the titles again to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and has yet to get them back since.
On the other side, Wilder is the former WBC heavyweight champion. He lost his title to Tyson Fury in 2020 and has failed to get it back. But Wilder is coming off of a dominant first-round knockout of Robert Helenius.
“If Joshua is ready or willing to fight us next, that is what we want and we will give anything to fight him. This has been a five-year campaign and each time they always try to say we have avoided it. Right now is the 28th of November, we’re saying why not fight next? Let’s just make the fight,” Finkel told The Sun.
As far as Whyte is concerned, he is more than happy to step into the ring against Joshua one more time.
“Money, money, money, money, money,” said Whyte about a rematch with Joshua.
“If you’re telling us you want a fight first before us, then sign to fight after, let’s make a deal,” Finkel added.
“He says Joshua will fight Deontay after their next fight, why? They want to fight Dillian Whyte, who [on Saturday] was in a questionable win.
“The fight before that, [Whyte] got knocked out, and two fights before that he got knocked out. How does the press and anyone else rationalize Joshua fighting someone like that in his next fight? And if they say, ‘We’re definitely fighting Deontay after’ why isn’t there an agreement done? Deontay, Shelly Finkel and PBC are willing to make a fight for Deontay to fight Joshua next.”