Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder might just be returning on the same card on December 23rd.
The catch is that they are not facing other, but will be featured in separate bouts, allegedly.
Anthony Joshua, 34-years-old could headline an event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a rumored opponent being Otto Wallin, 32-years-old. Wilder, 38-years-old, would potentially fight in the co-feature against the former WBO heavyweight world champion 31-year-old Joseph Parker. This would seemingly signal a potential 2024 bout between Joshua and Wilder which would be roughly six years in the making, if both were successful in their bouts. The news was first reported by Dan Rafael.
Joshua has fought twice in 2023 with a unanimous decision win over Jermaine Franklin, and a seventh-round knockout win over Robert Helenius. Helenius was a late replacement for Dillian Whyte who tested positive for a banned substance and Helenius replaced him. Ironically, Helenius also failed a drug test after the bout for a banned substance as well.
Wallin recently defeated former unified cruiserweight world champion Murat Gassiev, which was his last bout and is best known for giving Tyson Fury an honest fight in 2019. The bout is best remembered because of a cut that opened up near Fury’s eye that almost caused the fight to be stopped.
Wilder has been inactive as he has not fought since October 2022 when he stopped Robert Helenius in one round. Prior to that Wilder was best known for a trilogy with Tyson Fury, which saw Wilder end that saga with a record of 0-2-1, with the first bout seeing him nearly knockout Fury and end in a draw.
Parker, a former Joshua opponent who is also a former world champion is riding a three-fight win streak with his most recent win being in Saudi Arabia when he stopped Simon Kean in the third round.
Further speculation of the return of Daniel Dubois has been rumored from Boxing News as well with some hopes of the opponent being Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller or Derek Chisora.
Dubois, 26-years-old, will be coming off his second professional loss of his career, and see the end of his previous four-fight win streak snapped in his last bout. Dubois’ two losses have come via stoppage as Dubois was forced to quit against Joe Joyce due to a brutal eye injury.
The bigger part of the story is simple. Joshua and Wilder two of the biggest names, if not the biggest names of the modern era are fighting on the same card, more than likely. Which could set the stage for a huge fight in 2024.
