Top heavyweight Joshua and Wilder have been in talks to fight each other for several years and the American’s manager is still confident the blockbuster clash can be made.
Deontay Wilder ‘s manager Shelly Finkel thinks a fight against Anthony Joshua could still be “enormous” even if the Brit loses his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk, reports the Mirror’s boxing and MMA writer, Harry Davies.
Joshua is aiming to become a three-time heavyweight champion by winning his belts back against Oleksandr Usyk later this month. ‘AJ’ has been on a collision course to fight Usyk for the second time ever since losing his belts to the Ukrainian last September, with the pair meeting again in Jeddah on August 20.
Wilder’s boxing future was unclear following his devastating knockout loss to Tyson Fury in their epic trilogy last October. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ finally broke his silence in May by announcing his return, stating he “must” continue his journey in the sport and win back his world title.
A clash between hard-hitting heavyweights Joshua and Wilder has been proposed for years and Finkel still thinks the fight has some substance. “I believe that fight is enormous even if he loses to Usyk,” he told The Sun. “I don’t know anyone else’s numbers or money, it’s not my business but I heard that the Saudis put up a lot of money for Joshua to fight Usyk over there.
“I don’t believe Joshua vs Usyk now is as big as Fury vs Usyk is and – being for all the belts – the Saudis may step up. Who knows? So there’s a lot of moving pieces but what I do know is there’s four big names at this point and that is Fury, Usyk, Joshua and Deontay. This month, two of those guys will be fighting and that will clarify what the future is.”
Wilder, 36, has been knocked out by WBC champion Fury in his past two fights. The American was in talks to face Joshua in a unification fight four years ago, but he went on to face Fury to kickstart their trilogy. Finkel said Wilder is in good spirits and has recently been training at the UFC’s Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
“I spoke with him on Tuesday, he couldn’t be happier,” Finkel added. “He’s having a great time and he’s getting more attention now than ever before. He’s out in Vegas training and he’s very happy.
“He’s at the UFC gym training, we’re not exactly sure where the next fight will be yet but I would hope to have that together in the next week or so. I think next week we’ll probably have an agreement and then an announcement.”
