Anthony Joshua’s two likeliest opponents named if Deontay Wilder battle collapses

Two various opponents for Anthony Joshua have been named with the British boxer’s proposed heavyweight conflict towards Deontay Wilder unsure. The battle was anticipated to happen within the Middle East later this yr.

However, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is anxious that Saudi Skill Challenge Entertainment, the group accountable for staging Tyson Fury’s crossover battle towards Francis Ngannou subsequent month, is leaning in direction of hybrid matchups. And that would scuttle any probability of a winter conflict between former heavyweight champions Joshua and Wilder, whose frequent enemy is WBC’s king, Fury.

“If we don’t get that sorted soon, you’ll probably see AJ fight [someone else] in December,” Hearn informed Boxing King Media. “Firstly, Prince Khalid [bin Abdulaziz] have been great partners with us and great friends. I’m sure we’ll work with that new entity as well. 

“You noticed yesterday they throw some huge cash in this stuff and make some noise. For us, we have agreed to phrases for Joshua and Wilder, however till we obtain a contract, the battle’s not occurring. Everybody has agreed to phrases, however till the cash is put in place, the battle’s not occurring. 

“There’s a movement in management and ownership of boxing in Saudi, and it’s up to them what they want to do. If they don’t want to do Joshua-Wilder, maybe it goes somewhere else, but it’s one of the biggest fights in heavyweight boxing.”

Hearn additionally named two potential options for Joshua, who’s trying to reclimb the heavyweight mountain following back-to-back title losses to Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua has since overwhelmed Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, with the latter being a last-minute substitute for long-time rival, Dillian Whyte.

“Filip Hrgovic, Andy Ruiz, I don’t know,” Hearn stated when requested who might step in. “It needs to be a step up, but it will probably take place outside of the UK. He just boxed two fights at the O2 [Arena] in three months, four months.”

A trilogy battle with Ruiz Jr. might draw essentially the most consideration, with the Brit and Mexican having one win apiece. Ruiz Jr. shocked the boxing world in June 2019, beating then-WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO champion Joshua. But Ruiz Jr. misplaced the rematch by unanimous choice in Saudi Arabia later that yr.