With the heavyweight unification bout between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker now complete, the eyes of the boxing world now turn to a super fight between Joshua and the WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
Quoted in recent weeks as saying the team behind Wilder has yet to reach out to them seriously to negotiate a fight, Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme, negotiations could start next week.
“I think Wilder would come over here [the UK] because in the world we live in, in boxing, the couple of million dollars Wilder is getting for a fight is pretty small fry in comparison to the rewards that await him for a Joshua fight.
“I think negotiations will start next week.”
Wilder has been making the media rounds since defeating Luis Ortiz by knockout in early March to call out Joshua for the super fight going so far as to say he will accept a minimal offer as long as Hearn and Joshua accept the same terms in the case of a rematch. Lou DiBella, Wilder’s promoter told users on Twitter on Sunday that the key to making the fight happen is agreeing that you indeed want the fight to happen then working to make a deal.
It’s not a matter of making an offer. It’s a matter of agreeing that you want to fight now, negotiating with that goal, and making a deal. It’s assessing revenue, and splits and reaching an agreement. Takes two to tango…or to make a fight. #boxing
— Lou DiBella (@loudibella) April 1, 2018
DiBella has yet to comment on Hearn’s latest assertion that negotiations will begin next week. Following his win over Parker, Joshua told reporters in a post-fight press conference that he prefers negotiations be more private.