Anthony Joshua Confirms He’s ‘Throwing Down’ Against Wilder

Anthony Joshua has given a positive update on his proposed fight against Deontay Wilder, Adam Mustill writes for Boxing Social.

 

Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have made no secret of the fact they want to secure a big fight for the end of the year.

 

Hearn clarified their position, saying Joshua would be fighting either Tyson Fury or Wilder in December in Saudi Arabia – and it now looks to be the latter.

 

All the recent attention in the heavyweight division has been about a potential four-man tournament which would see Tyson Fury take on Oleksandr Usyk and Wilder vs ‘AJ’ both on the same night. Whilst many fans remain rightly skeptical, a mega fight in the Middle East in some form is likely.

 

Joshua has now confirmed his Wilder plans in a video captured by iFL TV.

 

“That’s what’s happening [the Wilder Fight]. It’s public news, we’re getting it down, we’re throwing it down in December.”

Joshua returned to the ring at the start of April against American Jermaine Franklin. Although he got the victory, some pundits were underwhelmed by his performance after hoping to see a return to the aggressive ‘AJ’ style that fans saw earlier in his career.

After the Franklin fight, the former champion announced he wanted to be back in the ring within 12 weeks, with most tipping him to face former foe Dillian Whyte.

Those plans were thrown into doubt when he released a post saying his next fight wouldn’t be until December, with most assuming talks for a clash with ‘The Bronze Bomber’ were well under way – and that certainly appears to be the case now.

Wilder had been expected to face Andy Ruiz Jr after knocking out Robert Helenius in the first round back in October. The WBC ordered the fight as a final eliminator for a shot at Fury’s belt, but negotiations dragged on and then seemingly fizzled out.