By Barry Holbrook: Deontay Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel says he’s open to making a fight with Anthony Joshua if the popular former two-time heavyweight champion is willing to take the fight next.
Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) is coming off his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk, and he might not be willing to take a dangerous opponent like Wilder at this point.
AJ says he wants to fight in December, but it’s unclear whether he’d be willing to take a risky fight against Deontay.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said that he plans on matching him against a top 15 heavyweight in December and then looking to match him against DillianWhyte in 2023.
What Hearn means when he says ‘Top 15 heavyweight” is that he intends on matching someone below the top ten for Joshua to get an easy win under his belt for his next fight.
“It really depends mentally on what Joshua feels he needs. If he needs a break and a comeback fight. Or if he feels the real redemption is with Deontay, we’re open to it,” Deontay Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel said to The Sun.
For the Joshua-Wilder fight to happen next, it would require that Joshua force it because Hearn isn’t going to take this kind of risk after watching Joshua lose for the second time against Oleksandr Usyk last August.
The last thing Hearnwants is to see his flagship fighter lose for the third consecutive time, particularly if he gets beaten by a brutal knockout. Conor Benn hasn’t done enough in his career to step in and replace Joshua as the money maker for Matchroom Boxing yet.
“I think AJ should just sit around, rest up and wait for us to beat Robert Helenius and then get back motivated,” said Deontay Wilder’strainer Malik Scott to Fighthype.
“I heard they want to get back in November or December. I think AJ and Deontay Wilder should fighting the near future once we take care of Helenius.
“Possibly because he’s under us, and he’s not slow,” said Malik when asked if Andy Ruiz Jr. is more dangerous to Deontay than Joshua. “Ruiz is under you fast, and if you get too greedy with him, he’ll clip you. You have to respect him.”
