It appears we are one step closer to the rumored December mega-fight heavyweight card in Saudi Arabia as the promoter of Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn, the CEO of Matchroom Boxing, is pretty confident that his fighter will face Deontay Wilder in December. This wouldn't just be the only mega-fight on the card as a heavyweight undisputed fight between the WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk is rumored to face the WBC and lineal heavyweight world champion, Tyson Fury.
The news comes on the heels of Simon Jordan of TalkSport revealing rumors of the proposed purses for the two marquee bouts. According to Jordan, Tyson Fury would earn £ 90 million, Oleksandr Usyk £ 50 million, and both Anthony Joshua, as well as Deontay Wilder, would each individually get £ 30 million. Hearn while in Mexico this week promoting the Canelo Alvarez versus John Ryder, Saturday, May 6th bout, spoke to the rumor with Boxing Social.com.
Joshua recently got a twelve-round unanimous decision over Jermaine Franklin, as the hefty puncher, Olympic gold medalist, and three-time heavyweight world champion, surprised the world when it was rumored he wouldn't return this summer after his April win. Hearn spoke to this as well, as he wouldn't confirm that Joshua would be out until December, but elaborated in a perfect world, Joshua would be back before a December fight. That being said, it appears all of the energy and focus is on making Anthony Joshua versus Deontay Wilder a reality.
"So in [Anthony Joshua's] mind, he's fighting Deontay Wilder in December, once that gets papered, we then work backward to the end of July or the first week of August and I want him to fight," purposed Hearn to Boxing Social about Joshua's future plans. "I think he wants to fight. I think Derrick James wants him to fight. So we just got to pick the right opponent because what it is, is really a preparation for that Wilder fight."
As for the return, if Joshua were to return, Hearn explained his thoughts on how you prepare for Deontay Wilder, historically one of the biggest punchers in the heavyweight division.
"Well, you can't in a sense [prepare for Deontay Wilder], but what you can do is you can cement everything you've been doing, you can get more confident, you can get more comfortable in your team and your tactics," said Hearn about why a fight prior to the December Wilder fight might be needed. "So you need proper opposition, but at the same time, you're not going to fight a top-five guy when you've got one of the biggest fights in the world, a few months later. So [my priority] at the moment is secure the Deontay Wilder [fight], and every other decision or stem off."
