Deontay Wilder up for super-fight with Anthony Joshua in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley next year
ANTHONY JOSHUA has been told Deontay Wilder is ready to negotiate for a super-fight at Wembley next year.
The American returned last weekend with a trademark bang knocking out Robert Helenius inside three minutes in New York.
Before the comeback bout, Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel received an invite from Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn to speak over the phone.
But Finkel wanted to hold out until after the Bronze Bomber made his return after a year out of action.
Following Wilder’s statement first-round finish, the Hall of Famer promoter is leaving the door open for talks with Hearn.
Finkel told SunSport: “We said at the press conference it depends what surfaces this week. Whether it be Oleksandr Usyk, or Hearn reaching out.
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“It’s funny with Eddie, he made all these big statements before, ‘Oh, I tried and I tried, Shelly doesn’t want to talk to me.’
“I said I would talk to him, but after the fight, because that is when it makes sense, that is what the reality is.
“I always said, there was no reason to have spoken before the fight, but we’re always willing to talk to him.”
Finkel is even prepared to take Wilder abroad, whether it be for a mega-money Middle East deal or a stadium fight in England.
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He said: “I was asked if they offered the right deal, would we do the fight in the UK? Of course.
“Financially, it could be Saudi Arabia or another country, but it really comes down to them.
“I believe the fight between Deontay and Joshua will do 80,000 at Wembley.”
Joshua, 33, and Wilder, 36, failed to agree terms throughout 2018 and 2019, when the pair were unbeaten and holding all four titles.
Since then, AJ has lost three of his last five bouts, most recently twice to Usyk, 35, who retained the unified treasure.
Meanwhile Wilder was beaten consecutively by Fury, 34, in that period before dispatching his ex-sparring partner Helenius, 38.
The former WBC champion called out Usyk and promotional stable-mate Andy Ruiz Jr, 33, after his emphatic return.
But Joshua has twice faced those two and recently failed to agree terms for a December Battle of Britain with Fury.
I was asked if they offered the right deal, would we do the fight in the UK? Of course… I believe the fight between Deontay and Joshua will do 80,000 at Wembley.
Deontay Wilder's manager Shelly Finkel
It leaves Finkel believing the 2012 Olympic gold medalist has little lucrative avenues to explore other than a showdown with Wilder.
He said: “Two or three years ago, when Joshua and us did not make the fight, he had options and he was on top of the world.
“Right now, he doesn’t have many options and if Fury fights Usyk, the only real big fight out there for Joshua is us.
“But it’s up to them. The important thing, without getting into a big dialogue with Eddie, was to wait until after the fight and then decide.
“If Deontay lost, there would be no fight, but now we’ll see, the fight is as enormous as ever.”
Wilder, who turns 37 this week, has warned he has only three years left in the sport before retiring at 40.
So Finkel wants a swift return by March to embark on two major fights in 2023.
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He said: “Ideally he’d come back in the spring, like March. The preference would be probably Usyk, Joshua or Ruiz.
“And then some scenario whoever the first fight was, then the second fight we’d do that, I wouldn’t assume three fight but two.”