If there is an argument to be made that Anthony Joshua ducked Deontay Wilder, then somebody, anybody, many bodies, will make it.
While the American puncher’s manager, Shelly Finkel, stopped short of making the claim himself, he did tell Sky Sports that he never received any contact from AJ through the Brit’s career-long representative, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom.
Joshua and Wilder have been linked with one another for close to a decade and could have generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue, if not hundreds, by now with a series of fights regardless of whether they staged them in New York, Las Vegas, or London.
Regardless, not one bout has been booked so far. And, despite both AJ and Hearn dismissing Wilder as a tune-up type of opponent for Joshua’s prospective two-fight deal with Tyson Fury to begin later this year, it seems AJ vs Wilder was always a non-starter.
“Can’t be disappointed about something that never was,” Finkel told Sky Sports this week.
“Eddie never reached out to us and Joshua obviously had no intention of fighting Deontay Wilder.”
— Shelly Finkel says there was never any Joshua vs Wilder negotiation
“Same old story, just a new date,” he finished.
Kristian Prenga to ‘Shock The World’
While Joshua is not fighting Wilder, he is, instead, boxing a fighter called Kristian Prenga, a 21-fight Albanian based in New Jersey who is largely unheralded no the national scene, let alone global.
But, in a statement sent to Boxing Social, manager Keith Sullivan warned if AJ was taking on Prenga for a light touch ahead of a Fury fight, then he will learn the hard way he should never have underestimated the 35-year-old.
“If Team Joshua thinks this is an easy night for AJ they’ve made a serious mistake,” Sullivan said.
“They just walked into a very dangerous situation. Underestimate Prenga at your own risk.”
— Prenga manager on upcoming AJ fight
“I understand why they chose Prenga, but I don’t think they fully understand who they chose, which is going to become very clear on fight night,” Sullivan stressed.
“Team Prenga and I have tremendous respect for AJ and what he has accomplished: extensive amateur record, two Olympic medals, three heavyweight championships, more than a dozen heavyweight title fights, millions earned, etc.
“Kristian has not been as fortunate to have those privileged experiences,” said Sullivan. “However, what he does have is heart, determination, strong self-confidence and power.
“This is clearly a lose-lose situation for AJ. If he wins, he is criticized for his opponent selection; if he loses, he is beaten into retirement. I would hate to be in AJ’s shoes or mindset for the next 13 weeks.
“Joshua is a great fighter but KP isn’t coming to participate – he’s coming to shock the world!”
