Hearn confident an agreement is close for Joshua-Wilder battle
PROMOTER Eddie Hearn remains confident that Anthony Joshua’s unification clash with Deontay Wilder will be agreed, and a decision could be made in the “next few days”.
Negotiations continued between Matchroom Sport chairman Barry Hearn and Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel in New York on Friday, with Joshua determined to have home advantage for a battle against Wilder for all the world heavyweight belts.
A date and venue is still to be decided for the blockbuster bout, although Wembley has been mentioned as a potential location, and Barry Hearn hopes a decision can be made this week.
“I think the bluster is gone and we’re now at the stage where there’s real decisions to be made in the next few days,” he said. “I’m very happy to say I’ve done my bit.
“Eddie and his team take over, as always, and the last word comes from the man himself. Wherever we go, it has to have the approval of AJ.”
Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn recently revealed he was close to agreeing an alternative fight with Alexander Povetkin for September and Joshua-Wilder could be scheduled early next year if the British star firstly takes a mandatory WBA title de- fence against the Russian first.
“We want to do the fight in the UK,” Eddie Hearn said. “I don’t think they are too keen, but I think they are slowly realising that without Anthony Joshua, the future is not too bright and rosy for Deontay Wilder.
“He wants the fight, we want the fight. Time is running out, because we need to let the WBA know and Alexander Povetkin know if we’re fighting them.
“At the moment, it looks like we are. I think this fight with Wilder could get agreed in the next couple of weeks. I think it will get agreed in the next couple of weeks and probably signed.
“It’s just a case of whether that fight happens in October, November, September, or we do it in February or March. Either way I think it will get agreed. It’s just a timescale thing.”