Negotiations for a heavyweight unification bout between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua are reportedly on-going but still hitting roadblocks that threaten to derail the bout.
Boxingscene.com reports that Barry Hearn, Joshua’s Promoter, told Sky Sports that he wants a deal reached soon but details are holding up the bout and if unresolved soon, Joshua will have to fight Alexander Povetkin, his mandatory WBA mandatory challenger.
“Joshua really is up for being the unified champion of the world, but inevitably the devil is in the detail,” Barry Hearn told Sky Sports. “There are questions that we are in the process of answering. We’ve asked some and to be fair to the other side, they’ve come back with answers. We are still talking and we’re about to answer some more detailed questions, and who knows? I never in boxing believe any deal is done until the contract is actually signed.
“We are making progress, Joshua is – as always – an integral part of the decision making process, because he’s the one that does the fighting, but it’s a fight he likes and it’s a fight we like. We’re still a long way to go in terms of detail, but that long way has to be accelerated to get an answer in the next few days or a week’s time, simply because we are going to be put under pressure by the WBA: ‘Are you fighting Povetkin for the mandatory?’
“We’re being put under pressure because we have a couple of stadium venues saying: ‘Do you really want us? Here’s a contract to sign’.”
In addition, there are additional details that must be met or the entire fight will not happen.
“We need to have a certain amount of control,” said Hearn. “We need assurances on certain things, and we need contracts in place, and we need the money up front, guaranteed. But there are lots of small details, which at the last minute, each one of them could be a deal breaker. We’re not going to tell you we’re close, I’m saying we’re on the way, but the clock is ticking and we have to move.”
Wilder’s team previously extended a $50 million dollar offer for the fight to take place in the United States. Joshua’s team initially balked at the offer.