THE world waits for the latest on Anthony Joshua and his next fight. The former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko is the favourite to be Joshua’s next opponent. An announcement on what Joshua, the IBF heavyweight titlist’s next fight will be is expected next week.
“Next week for sure, we’re getting very close now. Obviously a lot’s been happening in the heavyweight landscape. We were due to announce our opponent last week. Things have changed. Opportunities have arisen and when you’re talking about fights of this size, you’ve got to get everything 100% right. So we’re in a great position right now. Maybe my smile gives things away but fingers crossed next week you’ll have some news that will blow your mind,” optimistic promoter Eddie Hearn told Boxing News. “One thing’s for sure in Anthony Joshua’s mind, in Wladimir Klitschko’s mind I believe both of them now, in the gym every day are thinking about that man as their next opponent. Everybody is working together to try and make sure that is the next fight. Of course there are always some hurdles to overcome. But myself and Bernd Boente [head of the Klitschko management group] are working together and we really want to get this done. When all parties want to get a deal done, generally it comes together. So fingers crossed, it’s certainly not done yet but I think for everybody involved, Anthony Joshua against Wladimir Klitschko should be the next fight. It’s the fight we all want and fingers crossed we can get there.”
Joshua’s next fight was scheduled for November 26 but that date is increasingly flexible, if they can pin down the Klitschko fight. “I think if it’s Wladimir Klitschko there’s a very good chance it could be pushed into December. It’s seven weeks till November 26. We’re not going to get a deal done until the middle, end of next week, perhaps even at the weekend. Then you’re talking about six weeks. This is the biggest fight in the heavyweight division if it can get made. We want to build this up, we want media tours, we want the build up shows on Sky Sports, it feels like it should have a long run. For sure it’ll be this year, whether it’s November 26, December 3, December 10 or December 17 firstly we want to get the crux of the deal done and then of course the date and the venue is important. Every day that passes, every hour that passes, there’s more positivity and we all really, really want to make this happen,” Hearn continued.
“It’s an epic match, it’s a young lion against a legend. Let’s make it happen.”
