Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder are edging closer to a huge heavyweight clash, years after they were initially supposed to fight.
Back in 2018 and 2019, Joshua and Wilder held all of the gold at heavyweight, with the Brit having the WBA, WBO and IBF belts while Wilder was a long-reigning WBC champion. However, they were never able to reach an agreement and that fight fell by the wayside as Joshua lost his belts to first Andy Ruiz Jr and then Oleksandr Usyk while Wilder was beaten twice by Tyson Fury.
The two former heavyweight champions are now, however, reigniting talks for a potential match-up in 2023, which will still be exciting to fans around the world. Wilder recently returned with a vicious first round knockout of Robert Helenius, while Joshua is expected back early next year.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn recently told IFL TV : "The communication lines are good between me and [Wilder's manager] Shelly Finkel. We've had a lot of talks, a lot of chats. Until the training team is confirmed for AJ, we won't make any opponent selections because we want the input from the trainer.
"So again, we've got three or four guys that we're talking to and ready to try and make a move for. We have to make sure the training team is comfortable with that. That'll be the plan over the next couple of weeks." Speaking on Wilder's next move, Hearn added: "He's been ordered to fight Andy Ruiz. He's in negotiations with various people to fight Andy Ruiz.
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"So I'm guessing that's what he's going to do next. At the same time, we'd like Dillian Whyte to fight Wilder in the interim or AJ in the summer. We'll have to see, but it looks like Wilder will fight Ruiz, AJ will fight at the end of March or April, and Dillian Whyte will fight as well. I think they're all going to come together in the summer."
There is keen interest in a rematch between Joshua and Whyte, who met at both professional and amateur levels. Years before he became an Olympic gold medalist, Joshua was unable to get past Whyte as a youngster, before rematching him in the paid ranks in 2015 and knocking his rival out in the seventh round.
Both men are also potential opponents for Wilder, who has a number of major options for fights in the UK with Joe Joyce also on the table. However, Wilder has his sights set on an unprecedented fourth fight with Fury, which the WBC claims that they will grant if he beats Ruiz Jr in a final eliminator to determine the Brit's next mandatory challenger.
