Deontay Wilder dropped a news bomb on the boxing world late Monday night by tweeting that he had accepted the offer made by Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua.
The WBC World heavyweight champion is ready to make the trip over to the UK and challenge Joshua for his WBA, WBO, IBF & IBO belts.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨 for all you @anthonyfjoshua fans… The $50M offer for him to fight me next in the US is still available. Today I even agreed to their offer to fight Joshua next in the UK. If he prefers the fight in the UK, the ball is in their court. It’s up to them to choose. pic.twitter.com/03PE8sk5x0
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) June 11, 2018
In an exclusive interview with World Boxing News, Wilder’s trainer Jay Deas confirmed the news.
“We have accepted the offer from Team Joshua and look forward to coming over to fight again (last time was Audley Harrison) in front of the great UK fans,” said Deas.
According to reports, Wilder felt that he was worth more than what was being offered by Hearn but accepted the deal nonetheless due to the importance of the fight.
💰 Deontay Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel revealed that Eddie Hearn upper his initial $12.5m flat fee offer to $15m and then increased it further to a “good” figure that they have now accepted for the Anthony Joshua fight. [@ESPN]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) June 12, 2018
“Team Wilder offered Joshua 50 MILLION DOLLARS which is exactly what he asked for, and he then turned it down. Team Joshua offered Wilder WAY LESS and Deontay STILL SAID YES!” commented the trainer.
Hearn has publically confirmed WBA mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin is more likely to fight Joshua next. However, with the recent turn of events, the pressure from fans, media, and Team Wilder is on Hearn to make the undisputed heavyweight championship official.
“Deontay wants this for all boxing fans, which is why he accepted their terms. We can’t wait. Send the contract,” Deas told.