Source: Joshua, Wilder agree to all terms on two-fight deal
Long-awaited showdown contingent on neither losing Saturday
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Although the outline of a deal, including the financial terms, for heavyweight stars Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder to meet in a long-awaited mega fight on March 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were agreed to more than a week ago, there were still a variety of open issues.
The camps were not negotiating with each other but with Riyadh Season organizers, who are bankrolling the major fights in Saudi Arabia, and with the Joshua and Wilder teams on the ground this week in Riyadh for their bouts on Saturday, they met with those officials, came to an agreement on all terms and gotten contracts, which are expected to be signed before they enter the ring on Saturday, a source with knowledge of the situation told Fight Freaks Unite.
The fight is contingent on Joshua and Wilder not losing their bouts on the “Day of Reckoning” mega card that will that will take place on Saturday (DAZN PPV and ESPN+ PPV in the U.S., 11 a.m. ET, $39.99) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
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The card was put together on about six weeks’ notice after the planned Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight championship fight was delayed from Saturday until Feb. 17 because Fury had a much tougher than expected fight with Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28 and he could not be ready to fight again so quickly.
All along, the hope from the Riyadh Season organizers was that wins by Joshua and Wilder would lead to them facing each other next, and now the fight is fully agreed barring losses on Saturday.
Former two-time unified titleholder Joshua will face Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs), 33, a southpaw from Sweden, in the 12-round main event and Wilder will fight fellow former titleholder (and former Joshua victim) Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs), 31, of New Zealand, in the 12-round co-feature.
The Joshua and Wilder camps declined to get into specifics when asked about the deal by Fight Freaks Unite.
The Joshua-Wilder deal is a two-fight agreement, the March 9 fight, which, of course, could be delayed due to injuries, and then an immediate rematch that would take place by the end of the 2024, the source said.
However, unlike typical two-fight deals that contain a rematch clause — think Fury-Wilder II and Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. — where the loser has the right to invoke a second fight or pass, this one is for an automatic rematch with neither man having the option to pass and the Saudis obligated to put it on regardless of the outcome in the first fight.
When Wilder and Joshua posed for a photo with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, which has spent lavishly to bring top sports and entertainment events to the country, at the kickoff news conference in London to promote Saturday’s event, it was clear what the intent was. Both fighters have been asked about a potential showdown for years and they have been again during the lead up to sharing the same card on Saturday.
“I can’t put a percentage on it but know that it’s high,” Wilder told Fight Freaks Unite and three other media members during a recent Zoom call before he traveled to Riyadh about a fight between him and Joshua taking place as long as they don’t lose on Saturday. “I can’t talk for others, so I can go off only what I feel and what I’ve been hearing, and it looks great. So, right now at this moment in time, we both have a job to do, his with Otto Wallin and mine with Joseph, and we must handle that business and get it out of the way.
“I’m seriously focused on Joseph as I know he’s seriously focused on Otto Wallin, and once that’s over with nothing but great things are happening. I can tell the fans to be looking forward to great and wonderful things.”
Joshua also addressed the prospect of the fight during his own Zoom call before he traveled to Riyadh.
“The Wilder fight’s big for sure and it’s always good to have a view of the landscape in front of you, but all my focus is Wallin,” Joshua said. “Let’s say I get passed Wallin, obviously Wilder is probably next. If I don’t get passed Wallin, who knows what’s next?”
A fight between Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs), 34, of England, and Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs), 38, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has been heavily discussed since 2019. They sides held talks at various times but were not able to close a deal at a time when both fighters were undefeated and it would have been for the undisputed championship as Wilder held the WBC tile and Joshua held the IBF, WBO and WBA belts.
They would both eventually lose, Wilder twice by knockout to Fury and Joshua twice by decision to Usyk, but they have remained near the top of the division and fans have clamored for them to finally fight.
“Day of Reckoning” PPV lineup
Heavyweights: Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) vs. Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs), 12 rounds
Heavyweights: Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) vs. Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs), 12 rounds
Heavyweights: Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) vs. Jarrell Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs), 10 rounds
Light heavyweights: Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) vs. Lyndon Arthur (23-1, 16 KOs), 12 rounds, for Bivol’s WBA title
Heavyweights: Arslanbek Makhmudov (18-0, 17 KOs) vs. Agit Kabayel (23-0, 15 KOs), 10 rounds
Cruiserweights: Jai Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) vs. Ellis Zorro (17-0, 7 KOs), 12 rounds, for Opetaia’s lineal title
Heavyweights: Filip Hrgovic (16-0, 13 KOs) vs. Mark De Mori (41-2-2, 36 KOs), 10 rounds
Heavyweights: Frank Sanchez (23-0, 16 KOs) vs. Junior Fa (20-2, 11 KOs), 10 rounds
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Photo: Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Turki Alalshikh: Matchroom Boxing
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Well there is some serious heavyweight action going on! Not exactly sheep to the slaughter on Saturday, but everyone is banking big bucks on Wilder and Joshua getting out unscathed.
Honestly, I think there is a better chance that one of them loses then that both of them win.
If Wilder doesn't knock out Parker, I think he loses. And other than against Joyce, Parker hasn't been stopped.
And Joshua-Wallin could go either way. Joshua has basically been gun shy since the Klitschko fight. He got outboxed at times vs Franklin. And was pretty lackadaisical until the KO came against Helenius. And now a 3rd trainer? I could easily see a nip and tuck fight where Joshua is tentative to let his punches go and gets edged.