Eddie Hearn has confirmed that an offer has been made for Anthony Joshua to fight Dillian Whyte.
‘AJ’ has been searching for an opponent this summer as his team plans for an end-of-year clash with KO artist Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia. Joshua and Whyte have met twice before, with ‘AJ’ avenging his defeat in the amateurs with a TKO win, back in 2015.
On Saturday, Joshua took to social media to deny that he was in talks over a rematch with the ‘Body Snatcher’. However, speaking to the BBC on Monday, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that a proposal had been sent to Whyte’s team ahead of further discussions over a potential fight.
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"Our plan, which we've stressed, is for AJ to box on 12 August and in December again against Deontay," Hearn told the BBC. "The offer was made to Dillian over the weekend. We are waiting for his response to that and we'll talk today.
"Dillian has a lot of value in the rematch. 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."
Both men scored a decision win over Jermaine Franklin in their last trip to the ring. Tyson Fury recently claimed that he had revived talks of a fight with Joshua. However, AJ’s team have continued to pursue a fight for August and Hearn has explained their decision.
"If we can't make the Whyte and Wilder fights, then we'll see what happens with Tyson Fury," Hearn continued. "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."
Matchroom are planning for Joshua to face Wilder in Saudi Arabia in an event that could also include an undisputed fight between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for all four belts. Usyk is due to face mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois in Poland this summer but has also signed a co-promotion deal that will see future fights hosted in the Middle East.
"Usyk is locked in for his half of the deal to sign Tyson Fury in December," Hearn added. "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."
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