Deontay Wilder will not return to the boxing ring until spring 2024 if the former heavyweight champion aims to fight British rival Anthony Joshua.
That’s the harsh reality staring Wilder in the face after just 177 seconds of boxing since his 2021 trilogy clash with Tyson Fury.
The harsh reality for Deontay Wilder
Robert Helenius hit the canvas in October of last year. However, Wilder has shown little interest in returning to the ring since then. The American then signed up to a Reality TV show, prolonging his exile to the detriment of his fans.
Fights with Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk were taken off the table. This led to Wilder resurrecting an old disagreed bout with Joshua.
It all started in November when Wilder’s co-manager, Shelly Finkel, contacted World Boxing News. In a world-exclusive interview, Finkel told WBN Wilder wanted AJ and nobody else.
“We have the WBC eliminator with Ruiz, and we will do that, but we want the Joshua fight. Eddie Hearn said he contacted me in August, but we had the [Robert] Helenius fight.
“We announced it that month and said we won’t talk to anyone until after the Helenius fight. Eddie knew this but still said he had contacted us.
“Now we are willing to talk to make a deal for Joshua next.”
He added: “Deontay wants the fight next. We’ve been trying since 2017 to get the Joshua fight. Let’s make a deal and do the fight. The fans want to see it, so why not?”
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, jumped on board six months after an all-UK encounter with Fury fell apart.
Wilder vs Joshua
But after months of supposed contact between both sides, Hearn says the fight is impossible to make before the first quarter of 2024.
“He wants to, he really wants to,” Hearn told IFL TV about Josuha’s desire to fight Wilder. “We’ve been on calls with him all week.
“A lot is happening with the IBF situation. We’ll have to see. I think he’s going to fight in December or January.
“I think the Wilder fight, realistically, will not happen until March or April, at the latest. But he wants to fight.
“He wants to go back to camp and asked us to try and make him a fight for December. Whether that spills into January, we’ll see.”
That IBF situation Hearn speaks of is the possibility Filip Hrgovic could fight for the vacant title.
Joshua and Otto Wallin are the two contenders in the frame if Usyk is stripped after an undisputed battle with Fury.
Once again, the heavyweight division is proving to be a mess.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer.
Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
