By Jeff Aranow: IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua says he will be fighting WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder next year in a blockbuster fight. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, however, has given Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) the conditions for them to get the fight with Joshua by saying he first must face and defeat Dillian Whyte (21-1, 16 KOs).
(Photo credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
If Wilder wins that fight, then he can get the Joshua fight.
If Joshua has the power to override Hearn’s conditions that he sets on the Wilder fight, then there’s nothing stopping that fight from getting made next year. Hearn is jeopardizing the Joshua-Wilder fight from taking place by telling him and his promoter Lou Dibella that they must prove that they can beat Whyte before they can get the fight. They have to earn the fight by beating Whyte despite Wilder being a world champion and NOT a contender.
“I will fight Wilder next year and make it a blockbuster,” said Joshua. “He hasn’t had any memorable fights. He needs a real remarkable fight to stamp his name in heavyweight boxing.”
Joshua and Wilder both have tough fights ahead of them in their next matches. There’s no guarantee that they’ll both win. Wilder has the tougher fight against former WBC champion Bermane Stiverne on November 4. Stiverne can punch, and he’s always one shot away from winning his fights. Joshua will be defending his titles against his replacement opponent Carlos Takam on October 28 in Cardiff, Wales.
That’s a tough fight as well, because Takam can punch, and he’ll be fighting out of his head to try and win. Takam has more to gain than Joshua, and he’s the much hungrier fighter of the two. Joshua is already a multi-millionaire, and he’s set for life.
I’m on a media call talking to Anthony Joshua about his Oct. 28 title defense vs. Carlos Takam. He said after that fight he would like to come to fight in the U.S. in 2018 and he said he thinks when he fights Deontay Wilder he can see that fight being in the U.S.
Hearn wants Joshua to fight outside of the UK in 2018, possibly in the U.S. He’s also got his eye on potentially staging a fight in Africa and the Middle East, according to Dan Rafael. It’s unclear what Hearn is looking to get in staging the fights those countries. Fighting in the U.S makes sense if he’s going to match Joshua against an American, but fighting in the other countries would only make sense if a large money offer is coming them.
I’m just happy I don’t have to wait. I’m really grateful the show will still go on.” said Joshua about him being pleased that Takam will be filling in for the injured Kubrat Pulev on October 28.
It is good that the International Boxing Federation has a replacement for Pulev with #3 Takam taking the fight with Joshua. It could have been tougher for Joshua if the IBF had told him to fight Whyte on October 28 or Jarrell Miller. Those are tough fighters to face on short notice. Joshua would need to think hard about whether he would want to take a risk opponent like that on short notice.
Wilder’s promoter Lou Dibella is resistant to the idea of him facing Whyte first so that he can get the Joshua fight. He sees Whyte as irrelevant to the fight that they want to make against Joshua.
“The concept that we would somehow feel obligated, or the necessity to fight Dillian Whyte for a chance to fight Anthony Joshua is a joke,” DiBella said to skysports.com. “In the past – this is a fact – we offered Hughie Fury on numerous occasions to fight Deontay. He turned us down.