You wouldn’t confidently say that Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will definitely share the ring together at some point, would you?
The saga surrounding the heavyweight unification fight has been dragging on for close to a year now and while it looked like we were making headway earlier this month, it’s looking like Joshua vs. Wilder definitely won’t be happening in 2018.
The conflicting reports from both fighters’ camps makes it difficult to know what exactly has gone down in the negotiating process as Wilder claims that he accepted an offer that Joshua’s team expected him to reject, only for talks to fall apart, while Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn insists that the people looking after Wilder are simply not telling the truth when it comes to the discussions.
🤥 sign the contract
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) June 28, 2018
All we know now is that Joshua has been ordered by the WBA to fight mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin, which is looking likely to take place in autumn.
That means that the earliest possible date for ‘AJ’ to meet WBC heavyweight champion Wilder will be next spring.
Hearn has since revealed the two-fight offer he personally sent to ‘The Bronze Bomber’ this week, which has yet to be accepted.
“Last night, I sent Deontay Wilder an email,” Hearn told iFL TV, before reciting its contents.
“I’m very, very disappointed that your team never came back to me on comments on our contract but, great news, the offer is still there at $15 million to fight at the next available date at Wembley Stadium, which is April 13.
“And even better news, I’ll give you $5 million as a little tick-over in October or September against an opponent of your choice in New York. Because you turned down $5 million to fight Dillian Whyte, but that’s probably a little bit too tough for you.
“The great news is that you can fight Dominic Breazeale, who ‘AJ’ boxed in his 16th fight or something like that. Or you can box someone even easier, someone like you’ve boxed already. For $5 million.
“So I’m offering you $20 million over two fights, to fight a tick-over and to fight Anthony Joshua on April 13.
“You don’t have to take the tick-over in September or October. But you’re going to get considerably less to box in September or October if you don’t take it. But, no problem, you can just sign for Joshua in April.
“But if you want even bigger money and you want a little bit more security and if you want to earn more over two fights than you can anywhere else then that offer is there for you.
“It was extended to him in writing last night and we will see. But my focus is for him to sign the Joshua contract.”
