THE big fight will happen,ย but we might have to wait for the Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder heavyweight unification.
Talks are on going, but Joshua might need to box Russiaโs Alexander Povetkin, the mandatory challenger for his WBA heavyweight title, before he faces Wilder.
Eddie Hearn, Joshuaโs promoter, said โthere are now frequent conversationsโ between the two camps.
โThey [Barry Hearn and Wilderโs manager Shelly Finkel] met on Friday, they emailed us on Monday morning and we are gettingย back to them,โ Hearn said. โAll I can say is that I think this fight will get signed but it’sย whether we fight Povetkin first.โ
โI think it will get done but the WBA are asking us every day and we areย extending this negotiation period all the time,โ he continued. โI think we have to make a call by the end of the week really. I haveย been saying two weeks for two weeks.
โPovetkin needs to know and so do the WBA.โ
It is most likely that Joshua will defend his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles against Povetkin, possibly on September 8, and then meet Wilder, the WBC heavyweight titlist, in 2019.
โAt the moment, we are fighting Povetkin,โ Hearn said. โWe want to fight in September but September doesn’t work with Wilderย because of Showtime.
โIf we fight Wilder it would probably be October, November but if weย fight Povetkin it will be September.โ
Wembley Stadium is a venue being considered and so is the Olympic Stadium andย Twickenham. Dates could be September 15 or 22 but intriguingly Hearn noted, โBut the 8th is available at Old Trafford [in Manchester].โ
โThat’s 15 weeks away now so to do a Wilder fight, you’d want to give itย the build up it deserves,โ Hearn continued. โIf Povetkin is September then Wilder probably won’t happen untilย February. That would mean we would probably go to Cardiff.
โWe wanted September because there was the possibility of places likeย Wembley.
โBut if you go October or November then it becomes Cardiff, where we haveย done two fights on the bounce.โ
He maintained, โI really do think the Wilder fight will happen but it’s just whether or notย it’s next.
โIt won’t be any more than the one after Povetkin, that’s the maximumย wait.โ