Eddie Hearn: No Reason Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder Doesn’t Happen Next

With WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder passing his toughest test on March 3, all that remains for a potential superfight between Wilder and Anthony Joshua is for Joshua to defeat Joseph Parker on March 31.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who promotes Joshua, spoke to Los Angeles Times reporter Lance Pugmire and said if Joshua defeats Parker and unify the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles, then the four-belt heavyweight unification fight will "probably" be next. 

A fight between the two sides had been discussed since last year, but talks have stalled with both men fighting other opponents until the timing is right for the biggest heavyweight fight in years to happen. Wilder's last two fights saw him knock out Bermane Stiverne and Luis Ortiz at the Barclays Center while Joshua retained his WBA and IBF titles against Carlos Takam in Cardiff, Wales in a record-breaking crowd. 

Wilder has been highly critical of both Hearn and Joshua, accusing them of avoiding Wilder. Wilder spoke to Fightful last year on the matter, questioning why Hearn was so eager to talk about the fight on Joshua's behalf when Joshua himself seemingly does not spend a lot of time talking about Wilder and a potential superfight. 

If a Joshua vs. Wilder fight does indeed happen, it would be the first time in heavyweight boxing history that all four major alphabet titles (WBA, WBO, WBC and IBF) and the Ring Magazine title would be on the line in one fight.