Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has said an offer has officially been made to Dillian Whyte over a fight with “AJ” this summer.
Hearn has said in recent weeks that the plan is for Joshua, 33, to fight in August before potentially facing Deontay Wilder in December, with Whyte a possible opponent for the first bout.
While Joshua, seemingly frustrated, took to Instagram on the weekend to say he was unaware of talks with Whyte, Hearn has now shed more light on the matter.
“The offer was made to Dillian over the weekend,” Hearn told the BBC on Monday (5 June). “We are waiting for his response to that, and we’ll talk today.”
Joshua knocked out Whyte, 35, in 2015 to avenge an amateur loss to his fellow Briton.
“Dillian has a lot of value in the rematch,” 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 both AJ and Whyte want the fight.”
Joshua last fought in April, outpointing Jermaine Franklin in London, just as Whyte did in November in his most recent bout.
AJ has also long been linked with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, whose promoter Frank Warren claimed last week that Joshua ‘does not want the fight’, amid fresh rumours of the all-British clash.
Despite the collapse of talks between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in March, that bout – to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion – is not off the table completely, according to Hearn. It could yet take place in Saudi Arabia, the rumoured location for Joshua vs Wilder.
“Usyk is locked in for his half of the deal to [fight] Tyson Fury in December,” Hearn said. “Fury is another story but, from our point of view – subject to final offers and contracts – we’re happy to proceed with the Wilder fight in December.
“If we can’t make the Whyte and Wilder fights, then we’ll see what happens with Tyson Fury. AJ was very reluctant, as a lot of people are right now, to base his short-term future on the likelihood of Tyson Fury actually doing what he says is going to do.”
Usyk, who outpointed Joshua in back-to-back fights in 2021 and 2022, is expected to fight Daniel Dubois in Poland in August, before any potential bout with Fury.
The Ukrainian took the unified heavyweight titles from Joshua in their first bout and retained them in a rematch last summer. Briton Dubois is the unbeaten Usyk’s mandatory challenger.
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