Eddie Hearn: Deontay Wilder Doesn’t Want Anthony Joshua Fight
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who promotes unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, does not fully believe Deontay Wilder‘s claims that he wants to fight Joshua.
During a media roundtable alongside heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller, Hearn said Joshua wants to face Wilder, the WBC heavyweight champion. After Joshua’s latest win, a WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight title unification win over Joseph Parker on March 31, he issued a challenge to Wilder to come to the United Kingdom and fight him in what would be the first heavyweight title fight to unify all four major world titles.
Wilder was scheduled to have a media conference call on April 3, but then postponed the call and released a statement saying he accepts Joshua’s challenge and would be more than willing to travel to the United Kingdom for that fight.
“AJ’s focus is on Deontay Wilder but we don’t believe his team want the fight so we have to look at other options,” Hearn said. “If AJ is to fight in the summer and it’s not Deontay, then a win over Duhaupas on April 28 will put Jarrell in a great spot to land a shot at Joshua.”
Miller, a former kickboxer who has a 20-0-1 professional boxing record, is currently scheduled to fight former world title challenger Johann Duhaupas on April 28 on an HBO-televised card from the Barclays Center in a WBA heavyweight title eliminator. Miller had previously told Fightful last year that he hopes to get a world title opportunity sometime in 2018, saying that if he gets an offer to fight Joshua, he would take it. Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing is promoting that April 28 card that is being headlined by Daniel Jacobs vs. Maciej Sulecki in a WBA middleweight title eliminator.
