FOR a glorious moment it seemed like sporting logic would prevail and the biggest fight in boxing would actually happen. But the peculiar logic unique to this business prevailed. Negotiations for Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder, to unify all four major titles and decide an undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, have failed. Boxing remains boxing and, as is so often the case, itโs own worst enemy. After months of discussions to make the fight the world wants to see, we are, perhaps, a step or two further along the path. But itโs been a long and winding road to get there.
Eddie Hearn, of Matchroom Boxing, Joshua’s promoter, and Shelly Finkel, Wilderโs manager, met to discuss the super-fight as far back as November of last year, when Joshua was โonlyโ the IBF and WBA heavyweight world champion. Joshua had another unification clash at the end of March, when he beat Joseph Parker to add the New Zealanderโs WBO crown to his title haul. The first signs of frostiness between the two camps became manifest when Wilder declined to attend the fight week as a pundit.
After defeating Parker, asked for a message for Deontay Wilder, Joshua declared, โLetโs go!โ
He continued, โOn this side of the Pond, weโre serious. UK, Great Britain boxing, is on the map.โ
His team took their instructions and negotiations with Wilder began in earnest. It was a complex situation though. In Alexander Povetkin the WBA had a mandatory challenger for their heavyweight title, which Anthony Joshua held. Two weeks after the Parker fight the WBA told Hearn he had 28 days to negotiate the Povetkin fight before they called purse bids for it.
These talks ran in parallel, and a deal for a unification with Wilder would have taken priority over a defence against Povetkin. So in April Hearn offered Wilder $12.5 million for the Joshua fight.
But Wilder came back with a surprise. He emailed Joshua and his trainer Rob McCracken with an offer of $50 million. Hearn greeted this with a note of scepticism but was curious to find out more. However a face-to-face meeting in New York with Wilderโs representatives, Finkel and influential advisor Al Haymon, was booked, then cancelled and ultimately did not happen. It had been a surreal build up to a non-existent meeting, as for weeks Hearn had been peppering his public remarks with references to Finkel as โShirley Winkleโ.
โWhen they made the $50 million offer,โ Hearn told Boxing News, โAJ said thatโs interesting, get the contract. I went back and said please can you send the contract. They said no youโve got to accept the deal first. Sometimes you can get a deal point with five or six points and say I accept those, please send the contract. This didnโt even really have them. I didnโt want to accept anything publicly. I think they wanted us to accept the fight.โ
Name calling notwithstanding, the lines of communication did remain open, even with more questions to be asked. Matchroom were however running out of leeway with the WBA when it came to that body’s expectations for their mandatory challenger. Hearn explained, โWe said, โCan we have a weekโs extension?โ We were negotiating with Povetkin at the time because we had to get a deal in place. They [the WBA] said weโll give you a week extension. Then we got to the following week and they said, โAny news and I said, โCan we have another week extension?โ and they said, โOkay but we donโt want too many of these.โ World of Boxing [Povetkinโs promoter] said go on then, then the next week [Matchroom requested], โCan we have another extension?โ I think we asked for five or six extensions before purse bids were called.โ
Particularly pertinent to the Wilder negotiations, Joshuaโs team would conclude that he ought to fight in the UK next. On May 25 Rob McCracken, Joshuaโs trainer told Boxing News, โWithout a doubt for me the Wilder fight will take place, itโs just whether itโs this year or next year, thatโs to be determined. Iโd like Anthony to fight in the UK in his next contest. I believe thatโs whatโs in his interests and best for him.โ
The talks however still forged ahead. Matchroomโs Barry Hearn, Eddieโs father, met with Shelly Finkel in New York on June 1. The conversations were positive and progressed so far that Eddie Hearn made a new offer (of $15 million to Wilder, it would emerge). Key points seemed to have been settled. โThey accepted the deal. So we controlled the worldwide rights, it was all agreed, no problem,โ Hearn insisted.ย Heย sent over a contract on Monday June 18.
The following Sunday Finkel replied to him, saying that he would respond with comments. This response was not immediately forthcoming, although in a June 25 interview with ESPN Finkel said that he only had โa couple of notesโ for the contracts. He was going to get back to Hearn on the Friday, at the end of the week.
Hearn complained, โSo you already know the comments, youโve reviewed the contract and you know the comments and you donโt want to send them for another six days. Shelly also knew that the WBA were about to pull the axe down so whether they were just trying to run time on this because they knew this was coming from the WBA, I donโt know. What I do know is, if you want a fight and you get a contract on the Monday, you give it straight to your lawyer and you get the comments back within 48 hours, simple as that. This would have been 12 days with no comments back.โ
The WBA then intervened, giving them no more added time. On June 26 they declared that Joshua must agree to box their mandatory challenger, Alexander Povetkin, next. โIn the last two weeks, every day, the WBA have been contacting me, because obviously World of Boxing [Povetkinโs promoter] have been saying we need a decision, we need a decision,โ Hearn said.
That’s that. Decision made. All thatโs left of the potential super-fight are the recriminations. โWhat seems to come out now is our offer that they accepted was a bulls*** offer and a joke. So I guess he didnโt want the fight, Finkel. Wilder, I believe Wilder wants the fight. This is either a big plan to gain exposure for Deontay Wilder, which by the way has worked unbelievably well for him or just mismanagement. But theyโve got three managers as well. So every time it goes to Shelly, itโs got to go to Al and itโs got to go to Jay Deas. But it canโt take two weeks, just to have the comments,โ Hearn said.
โGenuinely I think heโs been mismanaged. If the shoe was on the other foot and AJ said get that fight, Iโm in, I would be straight back probably on the same day with my comments to the contract. But if you knew what the comments were on Sunday, when you sent me the email, why do you want to wait six days to send me the comments, if there are only two? Which is what heโs saying. Is it because you knew the WBA were about to pull the axe down?โ
Perhaps all is not entirely lost. Whatever happens Joshua is going to fight Alexander Povetkin at an open air stadium in the UK in the latter half of September. But Wilder still has the contract and now has a date and a venue for the Joshua fight, April 13 2019 at Wembley stadium in London.
โThere are only two comments, which they said theyโre going to agree to anyway. One theyโre saying was the date, they knew it was October [if they’d agreed to fight this year] and then thereโs only one choice [for the venue]: Cardiff. But they knew that anyway. But apparently the other one was talking about the rematch, which was agreed by them in the terms which they were going to accept. So if theyโre telling the truth, the dealโs done. They now know the date, if thatโs really what they think they didnโt have. April 13 at Wembley. Theyโre accepting that term they already agreed to. So why not sign it now? Now we want to put pressure on and say you missed the boat for September. Come on, letโs get it signed. I want people to put pressure in them and say get the comments back,โ Hearn declared. โNow weโre saying sign it or send the comments. Youโve got the fight, itโs there. So you canโt say: โheโs ducking me, he wonโt fight me, heโll never want to fight me.โ Itโs there. If you think weโre bluffing, call our bluff. Sign it. And weโll sign it before the inkโs dry.โ
Hope springs eternal. This is boxing and money talks, one way or the other.
For Deontay Wilder’s exclusive take on all this, click HERE