Anthony Joshua wants to fight both Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, but he admits that one seems more realistic.
Olympic gold medalist turned two-time world champion is ready to return to the heavyweight arena with a fight against Jermaine Franklin after two losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
While not looking past Franklin, Joshua still has his heart set on some of the big nights in the spotlight in front of the division’s top contenders, including Fury and Wilder.
Negotiations have been made with both men in the past, yielding no results and only disappointing fans. Talking to Dan Rafael ABOVE Big fight weekend, Joshua says fighting his American opponent is ‘more realistic’ now.
“It seems like Deontay Wilder is more realistic, because I just think the things that happened with Fury were a bit crazy.
I’ve been in this situation for a long time – even with the two of them, I’ve been in a similar situation – but I just feel like Deontay is approaching a stage in his career where he reality.”
“It’s not ‘I just want this game’, I think he needs it. So it’s more realistic if I’m being honest with you, especially given the position we’re both in in our careers.”
There are the former champions. ‘AJ’ has held three of the four major heavyweight titles from a decisive win over Joesph Parker in 2018 – with a stumbling block over Andy Ruiz Jr – until losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022.
Wilder was the WBC Champion from 2015 to 2022, when Fury served him his first career loss to claim it.
The two men have tried and failed to make an undisputed fight around that time, but the matchmaking plot remains even when the belts are gone.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that there is now an open line of communication between him and Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkeland that’s what they want to discover at the end of the year if his men beat Franklin.
However, Hearn is also very interested in the Fury bout, and with his undisputed chance against Usyk gone, the promoter intends to make a serious play for the domestic bout.
However, fans will clearly remember how that happened last time – failed negotiations since the end of 2022 could be the reason behind Joshua’s affection.
