An Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder superfight is so close we can almost touch it, with a deal done and a date set according to fresh reports.
Speculation has been rife for months that the two heavyweight knockout artists would meet at some stage in 2024, and it appears that could happen sooner rather than later.
The pair both feature on that blockbusting ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Riyadh on Saturday week (December 23) – AJ locks horns with Swede Otto Wallin while Wilder will meet former WBO world champion Joseph Parker.
Per ESPN reporter Mike Coppinger, if both men win they will move forward to a superfight against each other (again in Saudi Arabia) on Saturday March 9.
Golden period for heavyweight boxing
Joshua vs Wilder would cap an incredible few months for boxing’s heavyweight division, after years of stagnation and a lack of regular meaningful fights.
December 23 of course gives us Joshua and Wilder both in action, but it also sees budding superstars such as Filip Hrgovic, Frank Sanchez and Daniel Dubois also featuring in important bouts.
Then on February 17, 2024 – again in Riyadh – we get the main course with Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all of the heavyweight marbles. Their unification battle should crown the sport’s first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis outpointed Evander Holyfield in their Las Vegas rematch in November 1999.
With the WBC backing both Fury vs Usyk and then their expected rematch, you can easily see a scenario where the Joshua vs Wilder winner gets a shot at whoever emerges from that unification battle.
Wilder (43-2-1) of course held the WBC heavyweight title for five years before losing to Fury in their rematch in early 2020. Joshua (26-3) meanwhile is a two-time heavyweight king, losing the IBF, WBA and WBO titles for a second time to Usyk before failing to regain them in a rematch in Saudi in August 2022.
