Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder reportedly “locked in” for December

By Josh Evanoff - July 6, 2023

Former boxing champions Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder are reportedly set to clash in December.

Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua

‘AJ’ and ‘The Bronze Bomber’ have been in talks over a potential fight for a while now. In April, Anthony Joshua scored a unanimous decision win over Jermaine Franklin, snapping a two-fight losing streak. Following the victory, he called for matchups with Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder, and Tyson Fury.

Luckily for the former champion, he will get two of those three fights this year. Earlier today, Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte 2 was announced for August. In their prior outing in December 2015, the future champion scored a knockout win. If he can do that again, he will face Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia.

Eddie Hearn discussed the heavyweight clash in a recent interview with TalkSport. There, the head of Matchroom Boxing stated that as of now, Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder is essentially set. The only thing preventing the fight from happening would be an upset loss to Dillian Whyte in August.

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Eddie Hearn, DAZN

Image via @eddiehearn on Instagram (photographer not listed)

“This one is wild because AJ has got the Wilder fight locked in for December,” Eddie Hearn stated in a recent interview. “We had meetings last week with the Saudis. Obviously, that’s one of the biggest fights in boxing, and he wanted to fight in the interim. You know, he’s been working with Derrick James, he wanted to have that fight, and he was insistent it was Dillian Whyte.”

He continued, “I wasn’t over the moon because I know it’s dangerous… You’ve got that Deontay Wilder fight in December, he could’ve just waited and had an easy, gimme fight at the O2 [Arena]. But, he’s decided to roll the dice.”

What do you make of these comments from Eddie Hearn? Are you excited about Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder?