Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will finally collide in September, six years after failed negotiations that World Boxing News presented in world-exclusive interviews.
Joshua and Wilder will battle it out in a belated encounter, provided the latter comes through Zhilei Zhang on June 1 and looks good doing it.
WBN was highly involved in the Wilder side of talks in 2018 as Shelly Finkel updated the site daily on back-and-forth conversations with Matchroom Boxing. However, weeks of talks proved fruitless as Joshua fled to a mandatory fight with Alexander Povetkin.
Five years later, Saudi Arabian Chairman Turki Alalshikh reignited the fight in late 2023. Joshua and Wilder were to share a bill and had to both win to secure the fight. It was one of the costliest mistakes the heavyweight division has ever seen as Wilder lost to Joseph Parker. Despite ‘The Bronze Bomber’ looking poor and past his prime against Parker, the American was given hope with a summer Zhang test. If he wins well and shows far more than he did against the New Zealander, Alalshikh will consider making Joshua vs Wilder this fall in London.
Discussing the plans, Joshua responded to talkSPORT when asked about a return date: “Wembley, September 20 or 21,” he said. You’ve got Filip Hrgovic vs Daniel Dubois, and you’ve got Zhilei Zhang vs Deontay Wilder.
“So providing one of those looks good – the one who looks the best, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh said to me, ‘I want you to fight [that one].’ So out of that pool, I believe that’s who I will be fighting, one of those.”
Joshua aims to keep racking up victories as the main target is Tyson Fury, who is out of commission with undisputed duties against Oleksandr Usyk. That four-belt saga could take until December to complete.
The Olympic gold medalist hopes to be in prime position for Fury, win or lose against Usyk, by the summer of 2025.
“He’s trying to deliver what the fans want; I know they want that big fight with Tyson Fury, and he’s working on it,” explained the British star. “But Fury’s got his obligations with Oleksandr Usyk, so I’ve got to make sure I stay focused and disciplined, keep steamrolling through opponents so I can get closer and closer to having the opportunity of me vs Tyson Fury.”
On wanting Wilder to defeat Zhang and secure the long-delayed collision of ex-world champions, Joshua added: “I think that if he goes out there and looks good, that will kind of reignite that flame that he had.
“Because boxing is all about perception. You can look bad one fight and go out there the next fight and look good, then everyone says, ‘Yeah, he’s back.'”
Joshua vs Wilder undoubtedly won’t have the same feel as it would have in 2018 when all the world titles would have been on the line for the number one and two in the division. It’s no argument that Joshua is the third-best top-division fighter on the planet, with Wilder now anywhere from fifth to tenth, depending on the perception of his recent form and inactivity.
However, the UK market will always be open to a pay-per-view involving Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. Alalshikh has wanted to take Riyadh Season to the UK after confirming the first foray into the United States for August 3, starring Terence Crawford.
Joshua vs Wilder is the ideal opportunity to do so.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
