Eddie Hearn hopes that Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will soon be in a position to sign a contract to fight in 2024.
The heavyweights are involved in separate fights in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 23, when Joshua fights Otto Wallin and Wilder confronts Joseph Parker.
A fight between them has long been one of the world’s most in-demand, and in the event of them both winning their respective fights, an agreement could finally be signed.
“We’re in very positive discussions,” Hearn told ProBox TV. “We have been for a long time. Until the fight is signed, there is no fight, and it’s not signed. So I don’t wanna talk too much about it, other than I’m very hopeful that it gets done, but I was very hopeful before and it didn’t get signed.
“For us the focus is on Otto Wallin. If both guys win, I hope that we may be in a position to move forward with the fight, but we’re not at the moment, because it’s not signed.
“The intention of Saudi Arabia, I believe, is to stage that fight. But until both guys win next Saturday, there is no fight, and at the moment there is no signed contract.
“From where we are now [in Glendale, Arizona], to when I land in Saudi on Tuesday – and you’re on the ground; it’s a lot easier to make things happen – we can make the fight. But so many times we’ve been on the verge of it. We were on the verge of it when he fought Andy Ruiz [in 2019], do you know what I mean? So it’s very difficult to have that conversation with ‘AJ’ going into this fight. But we as a team are working behind the scenes to make sure that it’s in a good place to get done if he wins.”
Joshua will be fighting for the first time under Ben Davidson, and asked how he views Joshua-Wallin, Hearn responded: “Really difficult. Wallin, you’ve only gotta listen to him – he’s quite a bright guy, but he fancies it. He’s coming off a big win against [Murat] Gassiev in Russia. Tricky southpaw. But Josh looks really good, and if Josh believes, and he’s comfortable, in the game plan and everything, he’ll be really tough to beat, and that’s where I believe he’s at.
“He’s confident. He’s working well with Ben. They’ve got a great game plan. He’s ready to be aggressive in the fight, and I think he stops him.
“Again, we’re in the situation where maybe next week we could have a Joshua-Wilder fight, and it’s the biggest fight out there, but we’ve gotta go in and get the job done. It’s like, every time, we’re on the verge of this, but you gotta win. That’s where we are again. Dangerous fight.”
