DONโT give up hope on the Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder heavyweight unification actually getting made, just yet.
While offers have flown from one side to the other, face-to-face meetings between the management teams in New York were cancelled last week. But on Wednesday Joshuaโs promoter Eddie Hearn, with a knowing smile, told Boxing News, โAll Iโm saying at the moment is talks are ongoing.โ
โThereโs still a long way to go but talks are ongoing and weโre positive and hopeful,โ he noted.
These negotiations appeared to stall at an early stage. Wilder himself unusually and publicly offered Joshua $50 million for the fight. No further details were proffered and then Wilderโs management declined to meet with Eddie Hearn until he accepted the offer.
โPeople say I donโt want the fight. Of course I do. Itโ $50 million! But itโs $50 million for what? Heโs not going to just take the money and say, โJust let me know where you want me and Iโll be there.โ There are so many questions to ask. Weโve asked the important ones now and weโll see where it goes. You shouldnโt have to accept a fight to see a contract or have questions answered or have a meeting. We are very interested should be enough. And we are very interested,โ Hearn explained. โHeโs taken it public. Which is probably the worst thing you can do. [AJ] likes everything done properly, behind closed doors, good business. Weโve worked with [Wladimir] Klitschko and [Bernd] Boente, weโve worked with Duco. Weโve worked with Dillian Whyte, weโve worked with [Carlos] Takam, weโve worked with [Wilder advisor Al] Haymon before, doing the Charles Martin fight. Weโve never had one disruption. So weโre just going to do the same thing, which is work hard behind closed doors. If both guys want the fight and both teams want the fight, it will get made. They do. We all do.โ
โWeโre not looking to complicate it but there are things that affect our legal rights and thereโs things that will affect our decision as to whether we take the fight. Thatโs the key here. We canโt accept it until we know,โ he continued.
โI donโt make the fights โ Anthony Joshuaโs my boss. So do I think he should fight Wilder? Yes. Does he want to fight Wilder? Yes. When youโve built to the level that weโve built to with him โฆ what if we say yes publicly, get the contract and itโs a load of b*******. Weโd look stupid. Weโd go: โWe accept the deal.โ Theyโd come out and say, โDeal done in principle.โ Everyone goes, โWowโ and it goes mad. Then you get a contract through that you canโt sign, then youโve pulled out of the fight. So weโve just got to be careful how we handle it.โ
But he is optimistic that the talks can progress. โThere are only half a dozen questions, theyโre not that difficult to answer,โ Hearn said. โBut they will answer them this week. Then if itโs a positive response we can start talking about drafting contracts and stuff like that.
โIโm taking it out of the media with the right people and talks are ongoing.โ