At one point in time, it appeared that Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder were destined to face off against each other in the squared circle.
Eddie Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing and Joshua’s promoter, was full of self-assurance about the possibility of the heavyweight bout coming place several months ago.
Hearn has finally stated why the Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder fight was canceled after a dramatic turn of events, which occurred earlier today.
In a recent interview with Seconds Out, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing claimed that the initial offer from Saudi Arabia to host the heavyweight showdown had been retracted, leading to a fallout of the event. The fallout was caused by the fight not going forward.
In his words:
We came to terms on the agreement! Also, Wilder did it. As a result of the fact that we have engaged in combat with Saudi Arabia on multiple occasions in the past, I had the impression that the outcome was predetermined. But as luck would have it, it wasn’t, and because of that, we now have to hunt for another location. There have been and will continue to be conversations with Saudi Arabia. Who would be the best individual [to conduct business with] in this situation? At the moment, we are being approached by a lot of people from Saudi Arabia who say things like, “I will introduce you to this person.” We’re doing well, thanks for asking.
Hearn went on to say:
“There are additional paths open to us in the Middle East. The location of the fight could very well be in Las Vegas. Even while the amount won’t be exactly the same as in Saudi Arabia, it’s still going to be a lot of money.
Watch the video that may be found here (7:05):
The sport of boxing has earned a bad reputation for its inability to organize contests amongst its most prominent fighters.
But now that Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s fight has been announced, the merry-go-round of discussions between the two fighters appears to be coming to a close. Hopefully, the negotiations for Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder will go similarly smoothly.
Eddie Hearn scoffs at the idea of Anthony Joshua vs Joe Joyce
In an immediate rematch of the fight they had earlier this year, Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang squared off against one another on September 23.
Zhang emerged victorious once more, albeit after prevailing in a manner that was a great deal bloodier than before. In their first battle, Joyce was knocked out via technical knockout, but in their second fight, she was put out cold.
As a result of the fight, a number of respected members of the boxing fraternity have suggested that Joe Joyce should end his career. However, due to the fact that he is of English nationality, there have been discussions in the past about the possibility of a fight between him and Anthony Joshua, which would be an all-British contest.
Eddie Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing, was recently questioned about the likelihood of ‘AJ’ fighting Joyce, and he responded by stating his opinions in the most unequivocal way possible. In his words:
“No, that would put you in harm’s way! To tell you the truth, buddy, Joyce shouldn’t be boxing. He has had a fantastic career, he should have been the Olympic champion, he has won the interim-world heavyweight title, and I’m sure he’s made a lot of money along the way as well… AJ’s blows are just as powerful as Zhang’s, but they come far more quickly.
