Anthony Joshua has confirmed that he will fight Deontay Wilder in December.Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn flew to Saudi Arabia this week in order to hold discussions regarding a potential fight.
In a video Joshua was asked whether he will be fighting Wilder and replied: ‘That’s what’s happening, you know what’s going on.’He continued: ‘It’s public news we’re getting it down, throwing it down in December.’Joshua beat Jermaine Franklin earlier this month to get back to winning ways following his two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
Wilder, who beat Robert Helenius in October, said facing Joshua would be a ‘dream fight’. He told iFL TV: ‘We got a lot of different options right now at this moment in time. Joshua, everybody.
‘I think a lot of people is going to get that dream fight everyone wants to see.’ Wilder’s most recent fight saw him overcome Robert Helenius last October. Prior to that he suffered two defeats to Tyson Fury.
There have been suggestions that the proposed fight between Joshua and Wilder in Saudi Arabia could form part of a tournament-style event.
Speaking about the potential tournament, Hearn told the Lightweight Boxing Show: ‘It’s realistic because Saudi Arabia means business and we’ve done deals there before, easily and frequently.
‘There’s no negotiations [already] but I fly there next week to start those negotiations. Subject to the deal, which has never been a problem with them [Saudi Arabia], AJ will fight Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury – no problem at all.
‘They need all four fighters on board to make it happen. I’m sure Usyk will do it, I know Deontay Wilder will do it.
‘Tyson Fury will think he holds the key to it. He’s going to fight Andy Ruiz Jr I believe in July, a decent warm-up fight for him.’
