Despite being assured for months that a fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder has been locked in, it has quickly become clear that the cross Atlantic blockbuster, which has been repeatedly tipped to land in Saudi Arabia, is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Derek Chisora, who has formed a strong relationship with boxing representatives in Saudi Arabia, has confirmed that Joshua vs Wilder will not be next, whilst revealing what he believes his fellow Brit’s next step will be.
In a recent interview with Boxing King Media, Chisora explained that Joshua now “has to” fight in December.
“It’s not happening. It’s not happening – for now. So ‘AJ’ has to fight in December and Deontay Wilder has to fight, then we’ll see.”
“But for now, we’ll rule that out. It’s not happening.”
Joshua fighting in December would be in line with what his promoter Eddie Hearn has been saying, though an opponent for this would need to be sorted sooner rather than later.
Though the Wilder fight not happening is of course a bitter disappointment, an outing in December would be the third fight of the year for former unified world champion Joshua and that activity should lead to further improvements when he does [hopefully] jump into a mega fight in 2024.
Boxing fans went into overdrive earlier this year when Skill Challenge spoke of their desire to stage Joshua vs Wilder on the same night as an undisputed clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
This was always viewed by some as wishful thinking, and it now looks unclear whether either bout will be put together any time soon.