Deontay Wilder facing Anthony Joshua in 2024 is one step away. However, a flawed Wilder vs Joshua plan to face separate opponents placed significant doubts on the fight.
Reports state Wilder and Joshua will fight during the spring if they both come through a December 23 co-headling, even in Saudi Arabia. The odds of that happening are in the former world champions’ favor.
Wilder vs Joshua
Whoever had the idea of a semi-final before a final will be sweating bullets that the plan doesn’t backfire. A similar scenario between Wilder and rival Andy Ruiz Jr. has already crashed and burned.
Unbelievably, Wilder vs Ruiz fell apart at the negotiating table. That gives Wilder vs Joshua another hurdle to overcome.
Wilder has to defeat Joseph Parker, an ex-WBO titleholder who has significant access to the tactics used by Tyson Fury to smash “The Bronze Bomber” to pieces in 2020.
Parker and Fury are firm friends, leaving the New Zealander with the inside knowledge of how to dismantle Wilder. Unless Wilder gets Parker out early, the night could turn sour quickly.
As for Joshua, his frailties are well-documented. He now faces another fighter with links to Fury, Otto Wallin.
The Swede cut Fury with a punch when they met in Las Vegas four years ago. Fury was forced to fight on with a massive gash and only just got over the line thanks to cutman Jorge Capetillo.
Joshua hasn’t looked good in a fight since battering Kubrat Pulev that same year. Even then, Pulev was way past his expiration date – a running theme with Joshua’s opponents.
The upside to the whole situation is that Wilder could wipe Parker out and look fantastic. Joshua would do the same to Wallin. They could then get around the table to talk and agree to a mega-deal of Saudi Arabian bucks to get it on after a six-year wait.
But then the fight has to be exciting and play out to satisfy the fans. The chances of all that happening are remote. It seems everyone is on a significant hiding to nothing.
Who Cares Club
Despite not being in the ballpark of a Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao event, Wilder vs Joshua has a distinct whiff of being too long in the tooth. Nobody is anywhere near as excited as they were in 2018.
Both held titles back then, and the encounter would have been for the undisputed title. That’s the kind of edge this fight needed to appeal to the US fanbase. AJ is not a name in the United States whatsoever and is only known stateside for his knockout loss against Ruiz in New York.
The fight will only be for the UK side of the bargain regarding Joshua. Meanwhile, Wilder’s age and lack of activity put him firmly in the US Who Cares Club.
It will all play out over the coming weeks, but the odds of it going perfectly are slim to none.
If they had announced the fight out of the blue for December 23, everyone would have been considerably happier. Interest would undoubtedly have been at its peak.
An opportunity missed.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay.
