Eddie Hearn has confirmed to the BBC that he has made a formal offer to former WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte (29-3, 19KOs), for a proposed bout with two-time former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua (25-3, 22KOs).
Last week, Hearn confirmed that he was exploring opportunities for August 12th for Joshua to return to action following his April 1st victory over Jermaine Franklin. Hearn confirmed last week that the 02 Arena had already been booked for the date in question and were just finalising options on who would be available to face Joshua.
“Our plan, which we’ve stressed, is for AJ to box on August 12th and in December again against Deontay,” Hearn said on Monday to BBC Sport.
“The offer was made to Dillian over the weekend. We are waiting for his response to that and we’ll talk today.”
The heavyweight pairing famously faced off against each other in 2015 in a seven-round shootout contesting the British heavyweight title at the same venue, the O2 Arena. Joshua would survive a major scare after being rocked and wobbled before recovering to secure a seventh-round stoppage.
Hearn has admitted that he feels talks between the pair could be complicated due to the pair’s heated rivalry, which stems back to the pair’s amateur days, of which Whyte famously claimed a stoppage win over the man who would become an Olympic gold medalist in 2012 and two-time heavyweight world champion.
Hearn feels that there is a lot of value in a re-match between Joshua and Whyte and that it is not just a case of bringing in an opponent pure for Joshua to look good against. However, most importantly, Hearn says that both fighters want the fight regardless of their opinions towards each other.
“Dillian has a lot of value in the re-match,” Hearn said. “This is not an opponent for Joshua, but a big fight between two world-class heavyweights and huge British names.
“The negotiations will be difficult, but AJ and Whyte want the fight.”
