Deontay Wilder’s team are in London for talks with Anthony Joshua’s representatives, Eddie Hearn has said, as a fight between the heavyweights edges closer.
Joshua, 33, is eyeing an August clash with Dillian Whyte before a December bout against Wilder, 37, and there has been movement on both fronts this week.
Joshua’s team have removed a rematch clause that threatened to thwart the fight with Whyte, and they are now joined in London by Wilder’s team and representatives from Saudi Arabia – where “AJ” vs Wilder could take place.
Hearn, who promotes Joshua, told Boxing Social on Thursday (29 June): “We had meetings tonight and [will do] tomorrow with Saudi representatives to try and close AJ against Deontay Wilder.
“Wilder’s team are also in London. It shows you the keenness to get that done, and fingers crossed. We hope that we can agree terms while they’re here, finalise the money, and move forward with that fight.
“As I said, Wilder’s team are here as well, that’s very encouraging. We all wanna make the fight [...] You may find that we’ve agreed terms for the Wilder fight [by next week]. Contractually, I’m not sure it’ll be signed by then.”
Hearn insisted, however, that Joshua vs Whyte is an important part of the plan.
The British heavyweights first squared off as amateurs, with Whyte winning on points, before Joshua won a professional rematch in 2015 by knocking out his old rival.
“We do wanna fight on 12 August,” Hearn said. “I think that’s important for [Joshua]. [The Saudi representatives] would probably prefer we didn’t.”
Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos.
