Anthony Joshua teases ‘mega-card’ of Wilder bout sharing bill with Fury v Usyk

By Philip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent, Austin

Anthony Joshua said he could fight Deontay Wilder as part of a blockbuster boxing fixture which will also feature Tyson Fury’s undisputed heavyweight showdown against Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua, who raised the prospect of the mouthwatering mega-contest taking place as early as March – also revealed his next fight will be in London, at either the O2 or Wembley Arena, in December.

Fury is back in action against former UFC world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou next Saturday and a deal to face Usyk – which will see the winner crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era – in Saudi Arabia has already been agreed.

Speaking in Austin ahead of Sunday’s United States Grand Prix, Joshua, 34, said: “They want to put Usyk v Fury and Joshua v Wilder on the same night.

“When Fury gets through Ngannou it is going to be late October going into November so I doubt he will prepare for Usyk and then fight in December. It is too short.

“So, the next window will be in March or April and that is when the undisputed fight will happen.

“What we are being told is that they want to make it a mega-card.”

Following two defeats to Usyk, Joshua got back on track for a future meeting with former WBC belt-holder Wilder by knocking out Finnish fighter Robert Helenius in the seventh round at London’s O2 Arena in August.

Asked about the identity of his opponent in December, Joshua said: “It won’t be a championship fighter – which is Usyk and Fury. It won’t be none of them guys and I am not too sure about the Wilder situation.”

Asked why a date has not yet been set to face Wilder, Joshua said of the American: “It feels like a land grab at the moment.

“Some fighters want to maximise their revenue. When I first started, you start, you build up your record, you fight and then you fight the big fights.

“But it is like, ‘where can we get the most money for the fight?’. And they want to go to Saudi Arabia so they are waiting for the undisputed fight.

Unplugged from the matrix. pic.twitter.com/KZt693umc3

— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) October 21, 2023

“For my career I have got to stay busy. And in terms of an opponent for December we have got to find the right opponent.”

Joshua, who has been announced alongside golfer Rory McIlroy, England star Trent Alexander-Arnold and World Cup winner Juan Mata as part of a £173million strategic investment led by consortium Otro Capital in Alpine, continued: “I am following my process. They didn’t want me to fight this year. I have fought twice and I could have had a stagnant year.

“I need to follow my process, and I am not listening to the noise about Wilder or whoever. When the opportunity comes I will be ready. I am not waiting around for big opportunities.”

Joshua is in Austin supporting Alpine after this week completing a health retreat where he was submerged in darkness for four days.