Joshua v Wilder Might Meet at the End of the Year
The fight that everyone is talking about might possibly be on the cards for the end of the year if hints from promoter Eddie Hearn are to be believed. Freetips.com looks at the state of play and the desire both players have to get the unification fight off the ground.
At the moment, in his US debut, Joshua will face off against Jarrell Miller in a fight that will no doubt prove to be a Sky Sports Box Office smash when it airs live on June the 1st from Madison Square Garden. Joshua is the WBO, WBA and IBF world champion and will be looking to increase his prowess with a victory.
Over in the Wilder camp, things are not going so well, there was to be a rematch with Tyson Fury, but the pair ran into trouble when trying to agree to the terms, and since then the fighter has been ordered to defend his WBC title by taking on Dominic Breazeale.
In a recent interview, Hearn was quoted as saying that there is “a clear desire from both sides to make the fight”. His view is that the path to the pair meeting will be clear once both these fights have taken place, and suggested that Joshua is close to reaching his target of undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
In the interview which was with Sky Sports in February 2019, Hearn had quite a lot to say on the subject: ”It’s very encouraging. “I’m not going to say too much on it, because I don’t want to jinx anything. But I think there’s an opportunity there for someone to be a mediator to get the fight done. Clearly, the relationship between Team Wilder and Team Joshua is not the best. I think this is a route that is going to be very beneficial to the making of that undisputed fight. It’s not just about doing a deal with Wilder; it’s about doing a deal with Joshua. They’ve got their work cut out, but the pieces are coming together. There’s a long way to go, but we’ll see where it goes. Now I think there’s a strategy in place that could lead us to this fight.”
His view was that the fight could well be scheduled for November or December but seemed to think it will hinge on both men winning the matches when Joshua faces Miller and Wilder takes on Brezeale. It certainly would be an exciting fight and touted as being the biggest fight in world boxing. So, there are some hurdles for both fighters to overcome before this can be set in stone. However, without a doubt, fans will be rooting for this scheduling to take place as this is sure to be one of the biggest box office smashes ever. However, Hearn confirmed that he had warned Joshua against complacency when he spoke to him saying “It’s all well and good making an undisputed fight, but if you lose to Miller, it’s all up in the air.” Watch this space.
