Anthony Joshua has seemingly confirmed that he will be up against Deontay Wilder in his next fight, following on from his underwhelming decision victory over Jermaine Franklin earlier this month.
Here's the video showing Joshua confirming that he'll take on 'The Bronze Bomber' next:
Joshua has been facing down questions about his career following two successive defeats against current WBO, IBF, WBA, and Ring Magazine heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, and did little to answer those after going the distance with Franklin, despite the fact his opponent showed remarkable resolve.
The 33-year-old British fighter now says that a fight against Wilder – the knockout artist who fought WBC champ Tyson Fury three times, losing twice and drawing once – is ‘happening’.
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A video showing Joshua seeming to confirm the bout was shared by iFL on Instagram, and shows Joshua claiming he’ll beat Wilder.
Asked whether he’d beat Wilder or not, Joshua responded: "That's what's happening, you know what's going on."
Upon being asked whether the fight would take place in December, he added: "It's public news we're getting it down, throwing it down in December."
Both camps seem to be keen on the match-up, and both fighters need a fight that could see them propelled back into the thinking at the very top of the division after some damaging defeats.
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Wilder himself has said that the meeting with Londoner AJ would be a ‘dream fight’.
He said: "We got a lot of different options right now at this moment in time. Joshua, everybody.
"I think a lot of people are going to get that dream fight everyone wants to see."
Wilder hasn’t been in the ring for a while now, knocking out Robert Helenius in a comeback fight last October, whereas Joshua failed to stop Franklin earlier this month, despite taking the win on points.
In truth, the fight – whilst no doubt compelling – would feature as a second-tier fight in the division right now, as Usyk, Fury, and a number of other emerging fighters are currently vying for a shot at the belts.
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Still, there would be money in a Wilder/Joshua fight, with Eddie Hearn reportedly flying into Saudi Arabia to hold talks for the fight.
Wilder’s coach Malik Scott recently said: “If you ask me, that’s the only fight I want for Deontay.
“If we could get Usyk, of course, because he’s got the belts. I’m fully with that.
“But I’m very, very big on Deontay fighting Anthony Joshua.
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“I think it’s good not just for boxing, I think it’s good for so many reasons…
“Every time someone comes to me and says, ‘What’s next for Deontay?’ I always say, ‘I’m hoping for Joshua.’
“Deontay wants the fight, I want the fight, [promoter] Shelly Finkel wants the fight.
"This whole side over here wants the fight.
“We’re gonna see what AJ does now, the ball is kind of in his court, so we’re gonna see how he’s gonna take advantage of it. We’re ready.”
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The final confirmation has yet to come, but the fight would certainly draw attention, and the outcome would be pretty close to call.
Topics: Boxing, Sport, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Celebrity
Tom Wood