Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder's Heavyweight unification bout could be happening this year after all.
After much on-off talk and speculation, Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel and his trainer Jay Deas have now both confirmed an offer from AJ's camp had been accepted for the fight.
Whilst no date for the fight has been said, it seems likely it will be taking place in 2018. Speaking to ESPN, Finkel said, “We have agreed to the terms that Eddie has put out to us for a fight in the U.K. Deontay has accepted his terms to fight in the UK. Deontay sent an email to Joshua [Sunday] night, and I sent one [Monday] to Barry Hearn and Eddie telling them that we officially accept the offer to fight under the terms they gave us and to send us the contract.”
Wilder’s trainer Deas added, in a separate interview, that they would push for a signed contract as early as Tuesday and the fight could be anywhere from September to November, despite stating that Joshua's camp had low-balled them with their offer.
“We offered $50m, which is what he said he wanted and he then turned it down. Then they came back with a much, much, much smaller offer for Deontay, which would have been even less than Deontay would have made in the United States, and wanted him to still travel to the UK for the fight. And we said yes."
“The reason we did was because Deontay is investing in himself. He wants this for the fans and he wants this for his legacy and he knows that being the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world will give him the financial gain as he proceeds. Even though we would have liked a better deal, Deontay said yes."
Deontay himself also announced the news on his Twitter, where he captioned a video of himself saying "he fears no man" by claiming he'd accepted the terms to fight Joshua in the UK.
https://twitter.com/BronzeBomber/status/1006296747151273984
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