They may not be battling each other this weekend in Saudi Arabia however Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder each getin different tests on Saturday that might be the last difficulty before seeing the previous heavyweight champs lastly share the verysame ring in early 2024.
Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) invites previous title opposition Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs) in the primary occasion of a hit pay-per-view card called “The Day of Reckoning” from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (live on DAZN start at 11: 30 a.m. ET –subscribe now). Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs), ontheotherhand, returns from a 14-month layoff to face previous champ Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs) in the co-main occasion as Saudi Arabia continues to put cash into the sport of boxing to make the kind of battles that haveactually been tough in the past.
Considering the 34-year-old Joshua, who lost his trio of titles to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021, hasactually been connected to talks of a battle versus Wilder, 38, dating back to when both veryfirst endedupbeing titleholders in 2015, the possibility of them combating in March, in the veryfirst of a reported two-fight offer, is extremely interesting.
That doesn’t mean it’s hard not to ask the knee-jerk concern most boxing fans are believing: After such a long develop towards this relatively unavoidable battle, why not simply set them together now?
Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, Joshua’s veteran promoter, cut right to the chase throughout a current interview with “Morning Kombat,” referencing how quickly this weekend’s card was puttogether after months of reports that the 2 heavyweights might appear on the exactsame card.
“I think we had 6 weeks and the card was put together rapidly,” Hearn stated. “By the method, I believe Otto Wallin is a really hazardous battle 6 weeks out. [Joshua] is in there with a southpaw who is simply coming off a triumph over [former cruiserweight titleholder Murat] Gassiev. And Joseph Parker is complete of self-confidence and Wilder hasactually been out for a long time.
“But, appearance, the factor they are combating on the exactsame card and the factor we are all going to Saudi Arabia is that we desire to make Joshua and Wilder in Saudi Arabia. But everyone desires that battle to occur and if they both win on [Saturday] there is a fantastic opportunity that you see what I believe is the mostsignificant battle in boxing.”
The primary issue with marination in boxing over the past coupleof years is that putting prominent fighters into bouts they might lose — which is the case for both Joshua and Wilder, inspiteof each being substantial wagering favorites — has tested to be a significant error since of upsets. In this case, neither Joshua nor Wilder are champs, so it’s possible that the battles versus each other still take rate, regardless of beat, just due to the large financialinvestment from Saudi Arabia.
“I think a win makes it appearance excellent on paper for both of us [in terms of] battling each other,” Wilder stated throughout Monday’s “Morning Kombat” interview. “But it’s no included pressure on my end. Maybe for Joshua, there’s more pressure for him than I since I understand what I’m coming to do. I’m blessed with God-given power and it’s natural. There is absolutelynothing I have to inject my body with. There is no type of polluted meat that I have to consume to make me feel some kind of method. I wear’t have to modify my gloves in any method, it’s all natural to me.”
After coming up empty in the last 2 battles of his trilogy with Tyson Fury, both of which ended through violent blockage, Wilder sat out a complete year before returning last October to knock out Robert Helenius in Round 1. Wilder went on to delightin a bit of a spiritual renewal after goingto an Ayahuasca retreat in South America and hasactually been significantly better as a result.
This is a far cry from the more combative side of Wilder that shared more than a coupleof conspiracy theories as to why he lost to Fury, and even fired co-trainer Mark Breland for tossing in the towel to conserve Wilder from more penalty in his 2020 Fu