How confident are you that AJ will beat Wilder?

[Master]

Usyk has a good chin, but suspect to body shots.

Joyce has a great chin but suspect to bruising around the eye.

Dubois has a suspect heart.

[Master]

Terms have been agreed for Anthony Joshua to fight Deontay Wilder - but the Briton may walk away if contracts are not agreed soon, Eddie Hearn says.

Promoter Hearn said Joshua could fight Tyson Fury instead, while a third go at Andy Ruiz Jr is also on the cards.

Former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua has been strongly linked with fighting Wilder with a December date in Saudi Arabia touted in recent months.

"We've agreed the money, we've agreed everything," said Hearn.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live Boxing, Hearn, who has promoted Joshua since he made his professional debut in 2013, said: "We're waiting on the official contract, but we won't wait forever."

He said Saudi Arabia as a potential location had been complicated by "a change of environment in Saudi Arabia with the operators in boxing".

Joshua, 33, has picked up two victories this year over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius respectively, following consecutive defeats to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

"He [Joshua] is just training away but he wants Wilder," added Hearn, who said the 2012 Olympic gold medallist wants to remain active.

"If it can't be made, he wants to stay active. If he fights in December, that'll be three fights in eight months which is incredible for him."

However, Hearn believes a super fight between Joshua and WBC heavyweight champion Fury could still be in contention, should a deal with Skills Challenge Entertainment, who Hearn has been negotiating with for the Wilder fight, fall through.

"People keep saying he should have one more fight and then fight Wilder, but we don't think so. If it ends up that way, so be it and nothing would surprise me," said Hearn.

"If he fights in December, if he fights Deontay Wilder, if he fights Tyson Fury next - nothing would surprise me."

The boxing promoter confirmed that Joshua will more than likely fight outside of England and has mentioned old rival Ruiz Jr as one potential opponent.

"There's Filip Hrgovic and there's Andy Ruiz Jr, but it probably won't take place in this country," added Hearn.

"He's had two now on the spin at The O2 Arena, so maybe we go to Madison Square Garden, somewhere in the Middle East. It's just about activity for him."

Joshua avenged his defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in 2019 after the Mexican sensationally knocked him out in New York at Madison Square Garden.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/66769876

[TitoFan]

If Joshua truly wants Wilder, he'll get Wilder.

[ykdadamaja]

Wilder Ko 2

Not in 2. But def a KO for Wilder, for sure. I just don't see AJ handling that right hand very well.

[Syntax Error]

With the exception Fury, who has beaten Wilder 3 times, Joe Joyce whose chin is made out of Admantium, or maybe Usyk who has the skills needed to outfox him, I am never truly confident about anyone beating Wilder.

Joshua definitely has a shot, particularly if he fights like he did against Ruiz in the rematch, but if he is tempted to go for broke, then its a toss up fight.

[Master]

Anthony Joshua is looking to take a leaf out of Tyson Fury's book as he keeps himself sharp for his proposed bout with Deontay Wilder. The Watford powerhouse has acquired the services of Fury's former coach Ben Davison to keep him ticking over before he returns to his full camp in America with head coach Derrick James.

Davison helped Fury get back in shape after three years out of the ring and cornered him for his comeback fights against Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta as well as his first bout with Wilder, which ended in a draw. Fury and Davison amicably parted company after the fight and remain good friends to this day.

Last year, Fury even mentioned that he would like to bring Davison back into camp to work alongside his successor SugarHill Steward. However, it is Fury's rival AJ that will benefit from Davison's input ahead of his next fight.

Joshua's camp manager, David "KD" Ghansa, has revealed that the pair have linked up while the former unified heavyweight champion looks to keep his fitness levels up in anticipation of his blockbuster showdown with Wilder.

"Anthony Joshua wants to be very active. He's currently ticking over, he's down at the Ben Davison Performance Centre at the moment," he told Boxing King Media. "He's ticking over with Ben, Jamie TKV, we had him in our camps in Dallas a couple times.

"So he's still active. When he's got a date, you'll see him back out in Dallas with Derrick James continuing the work." Joshua's team will be hoping that when he returns to Dallas it will be to prepare for the Wilder bout which is proving to be difficult to get over the line.

The contest was initially touted for December, then January, but it looks more likely that it will take place in either February or March now due to a shift in the Saudi Arabian boxing landscape. According to multiple reports, the lion's share of the Kingdom's funding has been re-directed to Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority rather than Prince Khalid's Skills Challenge - who had initially made offers to promote the event.

The General Entertainment Authority are staging both of Fury's next two fights against former UFC title holder Francis Ngannou and WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk - and appear to be the promotional outfit with the money to get Joshua vs Wilder over the line.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...6265395&ei=121