Via Barry Holbrook: Eddie Hearn said that he “100%” wants to host a fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder in 2023.
Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) isn’t Hearn’s mind for Joshua to fight in January, when he is considering Dillian Whyte or possibly Otto Wallin for his next contest.
The fight with Wilder will happen later this year at some point. It will obviously depend on how smoothly Joshua’s fight in January goes, be it Whyte or Wallin.
Hearn added that he considers the Joshua-Wilder match to be a bigger “global” match than the Joshua-Fury match, which makes a lot of sense. Tyson Fury is a big star in the UK but not in the US. Furthermore, Hearn says that boxing fans will be excited to see two giant boxers with hand strength and speed in Joshua & Wilder.
“It was really refreshing when he came out and said, ‘That’s the fight we want.’ Shelly [Finkel] also said,” said Eddie Hearn DAZN Boxing Show about Deontay Wilder’s interest in fighting Anthony Joshua next.
“There was no talk at all. Very unlikely in January or February when AJ fightsbut as I’ve seen it before, it could be the biggest fight in boxing,” Hearn said
Joshua vs. Wilder is sure to be a big battle, especially with AJ’s impressive win over Whyte. Wilder will obviously need to do his part by beating Andy Ruiz in the first quarter of 2023 to make the fight with Joshua big.
“I know the Fury fight is huge, but that fight [Joshua vs. Wilder] is a fight between two giant boxers, two very fast athletes, and it’s a fight that will resonate globally as one of the biggest in the sport“Hearn talks about the Joshua-Wilder clash.
“We 100% want that fight in 2023. Wilder’s team admits that I contacted a few weeks ago or a month ago asking to start negotiations for that fight,” Hearn continued. “I didn’t get a response, but at least publicly, they said they wanted that fight. I also believe them.
“I hope to continue those discussions as we close the year. I know there’s a lot of talk about him [Wilder] fighting Andy Ruiz. I think it’s a huge fight. Whether it will happen or not, I don’t know,” Hearn said.
