Anthony Joshua has claimed that a fight with Deontay Wilder is ‘95 percent done’ from his side, amid reports of a December clash in Saudi Arabia.
Talks are under way over a heavyweight ‘tournament’ that would pit Joshua against Wilder, while Tyson Fury would take on Oleksandr Usyk on the same night.
Joshua, 33, told Metro on Friday (21 April): “From my experiences with Saudi, if they say they are going to do something, they are more than likely going to do it. So, that’s one end of it.
“And then you let the other guys [promoters] do what they do. But as the man behind the scenes, it is important to start getting ready.
“In terms of it getting delivered [from my side], I honestly believe it is 95 percent there.”
Joshua last fought on 1 April, beating Jermaine Franklin on points in London. With that result, the Briton bounced back from two straight decision losses to Usyk, who took the unified heavyweight titles from “AJ” in 2021 and retained them in the pair’s rematch.
Meanwhile, American Wilder last competed in October, knocking out Robert Helenius in Round 1 in a perfect response to two straight TKOs by Fury. Wilder’s first loss to Fury, in 2020, saw the 37-year-old lose the WBC heavyweight title, which the Briton retained in their 2021 trilogy bout – three years after the pair fought to a controversial draw in their first clash.
Joshua said of Wilder: “He is good, I respect him, I don’t undermine him. That will make me raise my game. I respect what he has done and what he has done in this division. It is hard to become a champion, and he did it, so I have to respect that.
“It’s going to be a tough fight, but I am confident in myself. I’m a better, more well-rounded athlete; a better, more well-rounded fighter.
“I don’t know, I wish we had got this fight on before – years ago. It shouldn’t have taken the big [Saudi Arabia] offer to get it over the line. We have just got to want to fight.
“If you do good business outside of the ring, you make money in the ring, but you have to want to fight regardless. It is not about the deal being right; that’s the wrong mindset.”
Joshua has fought in Saudi Arabia twice before, outpointing Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 and losing his rematch to Usyk there in August 2022.
Talks of the tournament in the Middle East have reignited hopes that Fury may fight Usyk after all, after negotiations around a bout between the pair collapsed in March.
Fury and Usyk, both unbeaten, were expected to clash in London in April to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion – the first since 2003 – but talks fell through.
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