Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder Fight Poised For This Fall
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WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) has agreed to terms for a heavyweight title unification mega fight with IBF, WBA and WBO champion Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs) according to a report by ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael. While nothing is official yet, the proposed bout would take place sometime this fall in the UK.
Fight Location Key To Negotiations
According to Rafael, Wilder, an American who has never fought outside the US, ultimately agreed to concede on the chief sticking point between negotiators for each camp: the location of the bout. Wilder’s team was hoping Joshua would agree to fight in Las Vegas, where that side believes better revenue could be generated for all parties, while Joshua’s handlers wanted to the bout to be somewhere in the UK.
Joshua is considered one of the top draws in the sport. He’s sold out massive amounts of seats to paying fight fans in London--up to 90,000 at a time--so it makes sense for him to expect the same for what is sure to be the biggest fight of his career.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, told Sky Sports Joshua’s preference would be for the fight to take place at Wembley in London, the same venue he knocked out former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in back 2017.
"We see this as a Wembley fight and we're quite limited in that respect. Obviously American TV and pay-per-view has to be considered. We've got to speak to them about what date suits them. There is a lot still to work out.”
With the location of the bout finally agreed upon, the fight looks more likely than ever to happen by the end of the year.
Most Exciting Heavyweight Fight in Years
Whatever the final date and venue turns out to be, Joshua-Wilder will be a global boxing event. Both fighters are thrilling and exciting heavyweights, the likes of which the world hasn’t seen since the days Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis battled for heavyweight boxing supremacy during the 1990s.
There’s an air of excitement surrounding the bout not seen since Floyd Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao in 2015. It may be difficult to top the last year record betting from the Mayweather/Connor McGregor fight, but should still have boxing betting fans highly intrigued.
Both Joshua and Wilder are athletically gifted and highly regarded in boxing circles for their accomplishments already. Wilder is considered one of the hardest punchers in the sport today, and Joshua is widely considered the complete package by heavyweight boxing standards, boasting powerful punches, precise footwork and an overall more artful approach to his craft.
Joshua The Early Favorite
Top bookmakers list Joshua as the early betting favorite. With Joshua’s excellent skills and Wilder’s tremendous power, both sides of the betting aisle should see plenty of action during the promotional buildup.
Karamba has Joshua at -244 and Wilder +170. The fight must take place before December 31 for most all current odds listings to be in effect, and most other top boxing betting sites have similar plays listed.
As betters evaluate boxing betting strategy, it makes sense for Joshua to be the favorite in the fight. With it likely taking place in front of Joshua’s raucous home crowd fans, and Wilder set to leave the country as a professional for the first time ever, the odds naturally follow the UK fighter in his familiar environment.
Moreover, most boxing experts consider Joshua the best heavyweight in the world. Both Ring Magazine and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board rank Joshua No. 1 at heavyweight with Wilder slotting right behind him in the No. 2 slot.
If the bout is made, the winner will become the first heavyweight champion ever to win all the major boxing titles that exist today. This includes the aforementioned alphabet belts (IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO titles) as well as the lineal heavyweight championship (per TBRB) and Ring Magazine champion.
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Updated by
Kelsey McCarson
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