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Home » Eddie Hearn reveals why AJ vs. Deontay Wilder talks are precarious

Eddie Hearn reveals why AJ vs. Deontay Wilder talks are precarious

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  • 2 min read

Wilder had laid a $50m deal on the table for Joshua with the stipulation that he accepted the offer before both sides met to thrash out the finer details.

In what seems a strange way to put together a fight package, the deal seems to be hanging in the balance as Hearn wanted some written assurance of the finances.

Joshua could now be ready to move on unless Wilder’s advisors Shelly Finkel and Al Haymon, are willing to bend on their side of the agreement.

“It’s all very bizarre. I returned the email of Deontay Wilder and said we are very interested in making this fight. Please send us a draft contract. He replied and said, ‘you have to accept the fight, and then we will send you the contract.’ I’ve never known anything so bizarre since I’ve worked in boxing,” Hearn told Sky Sports News.

“I had a meeting with Shelly Finkel scheduled for Thursday. He canceled that meeting. I requested a meeting for today (Friday), and he emailed me while also emailing the entire press world, saying, ‘there is no point in meeting it would be non-productive – we have to accept the deal first.’

“It’s bizarre, but we are talking to other people as well. There are probably about 50 people trying to make this deal at the moment. You’ve got Shelly Finkel, Al Haymon, Jay Deas, and other people.

“We asked for a meeting to try and talk about the offer – they rejected it. We asked for a contract – they rejected it.

“I don’t know what more we can do. We can continue trying.

“Is this whole thing a bit of profile building for Wilder? We hope not. We want the fight,” he added.

With the deadline well and truly passed, it’s hard to see where Wilder’s handlers can take negotiations, having already been thwarted by Hearn’s reluctance to accept the offer without a contract of some sort.

Both fighters have mandatory obligations to see through and could be ready to move on to new pastures, leaving the fans and sport as a whole disappointed.

Dominic Breazeale is reportedly on board for a summer mandatory clash with Wilder, whilst Alexander Povetkin and Jarrell Miller are the number one and two options for Joshua.

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