PROMOTER Eddie Hearn says winning a world heavyweight title remains the priority for Anthony Joshua despite Turki Alalshikh talking up a potential clash against Deontay Wilder for the Brit.
Joshua vs Wilder looked to be well past its expiry date when Wilder was beaten by Joseph Parker in December 2023. A night when Joshua-Wilder was set to be announced if the American won. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was offered a chance to redeem himself in his next fight against Zhilei Zhang but got dropped and stopped in five rounds.
Following Tyson Fury’s retirement, Alalshikh spoke of his interest in reviving Joshua vs. Wilder this year. The British heavyweight faced calls to retire himself after being knocked out by Daniel Dubois last year at Wembley Stadium. Dubois, the IBF champion, defends his title against Parker on February 22 in Riyadh and Hearn is very keen on his two-time heavyweight champion challenging the winner.
“The focus remains the world heavyweight title,” Hearn told DAZN’s Chris Mannix in Las Vegas last night.
“Obviously Daniel Dubois is fighting Joseph Parker [on] February 22. We’ll keep an eye on that. We’d love the winner but if that’s not possible we need an opponent. [Agit] Kabayel against Zhang is on the same card. Martin Bakole talks about a big fight in Africa but I guess commercially coming off the defeat to Dubois, the jeopardy of a Deontay Wilder fight is there.
“AJ-Wilder is still must-watch TV. And although the focus is the world heavyweight championship if that’s not available we have to look at all options.”
