Hearn hopes to make Joshua fight Wilder in November or December

Eddie Hearn, the promoter for IBF, WBA, WBO, IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, says their main target for the next fight is WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Joshua will defend his belts against Andy Ruiz on June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

And Wilder is making a mandatory defense against of the WBC strap against Dominic Breazeale on May 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Hearn is hoping to bring the two sides together to make that fight for a date in November or December.

“Hopefully in November-December. Josh is fighting June 1 and then he’ll go in November-December, and that’s when we want the Wilder fight,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

“It’s the only fight to make next for both guys, but everything we’re hearing out of their camp is not really giving us much encouragement that this is the fight that is going to happen.”

If Hearn can’t get Wilder – he will shoot for other alternatives like Oleksandr Usyk, who may become the WBO mandatory, or a rematch with Dillian Whyte, or the unlikely option of Tyson Fury, who is contractually
tied to rival networks.

“It’s frustrating because Joshua wants all the big fights, but what can you do? You can just keep winning,” Hearn added.

“We saw Usyk got injured yesterday and he’s out of May 25th, but he will be the mandatory and that’s a fight that could happen in December. Maybe the Dillian Whyte fight happens in December. He’s got to beat
Oscar Rivas first.

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“Maybe Josh fights Tyson Fury, maybe he takes the IBF mandatory in Pulev. Anything can happen. Really the most important thing for those four heavyweights is to just to win their next fights, because in this
division anything can happen. It’s all very well talking about future fights. If someone slips up, it’s over.”