- Wilder, a big-punching American, has conceded home advantage and is willing to fight Joshua in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in Joshua’s home town, London.
- Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is now sending all “the relevant paperwork” to Wilder’s management.
- A fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder is close to becoming a reality.
- The trans-Atlantic rivals hold all of boxing’s major heavyweight titles between them. They are both unbeaten, possess frightening punching power, and look set to collide in one of the biggest fights of the year.
American Deontay Wilder has agreed terms to fight Anthony Joshua in Britain later this year, in a bout that would crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000, ESPN reported on Monday.
Briton Joshua (21-0) is the holder of the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles while Wilder (40-0) is the WBC world champion.
Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel told ESPN they had agreed to the latest terms offered by Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
“We have agreed to the terms that Eddie has put out to us for a fight in the U.K. Deontay has accepted his terms to fight in the U.K.,” Finkel said.
Wilder, in a message posted on his Twitter account, confirmed he had agreed to fight in Britain but said an offer to Joshua of $50 million to fight in the United States was still on the table.
“The $50M offer for him to fight me next in the US is still available,” Wilder said on Monday.
“Today I even agreed to their offer to fight Joshua next in the UK. If he prefers the fight in the UK, the ball is in their court.”
The WBC title is the only one remaining on Joshua’s radar after he added the WBO championship to his collection, by defeating New Zealand’s previously unbeaten Joseph Parker in March by unanimous decision.
(Reuters/NAN)