The Anthony Joshua v Deontay Wilder negotiations have been one of the main stories in the boxing headlines these past few months but now the prospect of a deal happening is coming down to the final stages.
The main bone of contention holding up an agreement appears to surround the location of the fight.
Surprisingly, it appears that the bigger draw in the fight Anthony Joshua, is willing to forgo a lot of money for the bout to take place in the US.
This is so he can secure home advantage in the UK instead and ensure many more of his loyal UK fight fans are able to attend at a stadium event.
The same fans who helped him get to where he is today. Rather than a smaller number of them been able to attend the fight in a much smaller venue in the US.
An admirable and rare thing seen in boxing these days, to be fair to Joshua.
What’s he’s built in the UK over the years in boxing has been nothing short of astonishing to his credit.
However the time is coming where he is thinking about moving on from the Wilder fight, at least next up, if a deal cannot be reached.
Speaking to Sportsmail, promoter of Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn said:
“We are probably about two weeks away from a decision on AJ’s next fight. September has been earmarked for his return and all focus remains on Deontay Wilder.”
He added:
“Povetkin is the likely choice if Wilder refuses to travel. Povetkin is the WBA mandatory so both fights are extremely dangerous.”
With a two-week deadline now in place it will be interesting to see what happens next.
