Matchroom Sport Chairman, Eddie Hearn, has had his say on the biggest fight the heavyweight division has to offer.
The promoter from Essex was asked the question during an Instagram Stories Q&A session. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hearn included his man, Anthony Joshua – but the fighter in the other corner wasn’t Tyson Fury, it was Deontay Wilder.
Talk of the fight has come around again since Deontay Wilder returned to ring action earlier this month, following a year of inactivity after his trilogy fight loss to Tyson Fury in October 2021. Wilder has made it publicly clear that he wants to fight Joshua next year over the past few weeks, but how likely are we to see it? That’s a different story.
Joshua vs Wilder has been attempted to be made before. In 2019 when they were both champions – seemingly the perfect time – a fight for the undisputed title failed to materialise. The possible bout almost certainly won’t come in the immediate term, as the WBC has ordered Wilder vs Andy Ruiz Jr as a final eliminator for Fury’s belt, with a date expected at their upcoming convention next week.
As for AJ, fans hoped that the huge British fight with ‘The Gypsy King’ could be made for December 3 in Cardiff, but talks for that matchup fell through last month. Instead Fury will face Derek Chisora for the third time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Hearn has stated his intentions for his man to be out again in early 2023, with Dillian Whyte linked to be his next opponent. It will be the first time Joshua returns to the ring since a split decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk in their August rematch in Saudi Arabia.