THE world waits for the latest on Anthony Joshua and his next fight. The former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko is the favourite to be Joshuaโs next opponent. An announcement on what Joshua, the IBF heavyweight titlistโs next fight will be is expected next week.
โNext week for sure, weโre getting very close now. Obviously a lotโs been happening in the heavyweight landscape. We were due to announce our opponent last week. Things have changed.ย Opportunities have arisen and when youโre talking about fights of this size, youโve got to get everything 100% right. So weโre in a great position right now. Maybe my smile gives things away but fingers crossed next week youโll have some news that will blow your mind,โ optimistic promoter Eddie Hearn told Boxing News. โOne thingโs for sure in Anthony Joshuaโs mind, in Wladimir Klitschkoโs 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, itโs certainly not done yet but I think for everybody involved, Anthony Joshua against Wladimir Klitschko should be the next fight. Itโs the fight we all want and fingers crossed we can get there.โ
Joshuaโs next fight was scheduled for November 26 but that date is increasingly flexible, if they can pin down the Klitschko fight. โI think if itโs Wladimir Klitschko thereโs a very good chance it could be pushed into December. Itโs seven weeks till November 26. Weโre not going to get a deal done until the middle, end of next week, perhaps even at the weekend. Then youโre 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 itโll be this year, whether itโs 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, thereโs more positivity and we all really, really want to make this happen,โ Hearn continued.
โItโs an epic match, itโs a young lion against a legend. Letโs make it happen.โ