By Jim Calfa: Eddie Hearn says the Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte rematch might not happen on August 12 because the money is too far apart.
It was always going to be tough for Hearn to try and make a deal with Whyte because he’s popular, highly ranked, and not someone that is used for tune-up purposes.
Hearn states that the offer he made to Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs) was rejected. As a result, he’s now moving on to two other options he has.
Given the short amount of time, Hearn has got to get a deal done soon so that Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) can prepare for that style with his trainer Derrick James.
Hearn needs a tune-up opponent for Joshua to prepare for a fight against Deontay Wilder in December in Saudi Arabia. He states that AJ and his coach Derrick both requested Whyte as his opponent for August 12. However, what they may not have realized is that the money that he would want.
Hearn didn’t give any hints about who his two other options ar for Joshua’s next fight, but there are some excellent ones. Demsey McKean would be a good opponent. He’s not a big puncher, and he has the size that would help Joshua prepare for the 6’7″ Wilder.
“So we spoke last night to his team and this morning, and other than that. We made an offer, and they felt that offer was unacceptable,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about an offer to Dillian Whyte about a fight on August 12 against Anthony Joshua.
“We may be too far out on the money to make that fight. We’re looking at two other opponents for August 12th. The key for us, if we can’t make the Deontay Wilder fight.
“It’s not that it has to be Dillian. AJ wants it. That’s the fight AJ wanted, but if we’ve got the Wilder fight done, we can fight someone else from the top 15 on August 12th. We still want a decent, proper fight to prepare yourself for Deontay Wilder.
“But if we can’t get the Wilder fight done, then we need a much bigger fight on August 12th, or we look at Tyson Fury in September. But I believe, and Frank spoke to the guys at Skills Challenge last night, that we’re going to get that fight made with Wilder.
“So once we do that August 12th, if we can’t make a Dillian Whyte fight, then we take someone else in the top 15. AJ’s desire to fight Dillian Whyte.
“For me, I think if you’ve got Deontay Wilder locked in for December, fighting Dillian Whyte on August 12th is risky, bear in mind the amount of money you’re about to fight Deontay Wilder for.
“He and Derrick James specifically requested Dillian Whyte. The issue is the money Dillian Whyte wants and the money AJ wants. The market is starting to change a little bit in general for boxing, and I don’t think we can get to the number that Dillian wants for that fight, in all honesty.
“I think Dillian wants to fight, and I think AJ wants to fight, but we may well run out of time.
“AJ will be in Camp with them, and when Derrick goes to Vegas for that fight, I’m guessing AJ will fly home. Derrick will be there for five days, and then he’ll fly to London.
“There is definitely a desire from AJ’s team and Derrick James to have this fight [on August 12]. He’s had one fight since the two Usyk defeats, and that was back in April.
“They definitely want another fight before they go into a Fury or a Wilder. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying that. ‘Oh, he’s scared.’ No, he’s just it’s a very big moment for his career.
“He’s going to fight Deontay Wilder, or he’s going to fight Tyson Fury. He’d just like one more fight to jell with the trainer. I think that’s very sensible,” said Hearn about Joshua.
