Deontay Wilder‘s manager Shelly Finkel thinks a fight against Anthony Joshua could still be “enormous” even if the Anglo-Nigerian loses his rematch against Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk.
‘AJ’ is aiming to become a three-time heavyweight champion by winning his belts back against Usyk in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on August 20.
Wilder’s boxing future was unclear following his overwhelming knockout loss to Tyson Fury in their epic trilogy last October. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ finally broke his silence in May by announcing his return, stating he “must” continue his journey in the sport and win back his world title.
A clash between the hard-hitting heavyweights has been proposed for years and Finkel still thinks the fight has some substance.
“I believe that fight is enormous even if he loses to Usyk,” he told The Sun of the UK. “I don’t know anyone else’s numbers or money, it’s not my business but I heard that the Saudis put up a lot of money for Joshua to fight Usyk over there.
“I don’t believe Joshua vs Usyk now is as big as Fury vs Usyk is and – being for all the belts – the Saudis may step up. Who knows? So there are a lot of moving pieces but what I do know is there are four big names at this point and that is Fury, Usyk, Joshua, and Deontay. This month, two of those guys will be fighting and that will clarify what the future is.”
Wilder, 36, has been knocked out by WBC champion Fury in his past two fights. The American was in talks to face Joshua in a unification fight four years ago, but he went on to face Fury to kickstart their trilogy. Finkel said Wilder is in good spirits and has recently been training at the UFC’s Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
“I spoke with him on Tuesday, he couldn’t be happier,” Finkel added. “He’s having a great time and he’s getting more attention now than ever before. He’s out in Vegas training and he’s very happy.
“He’s at the UFC gym training, we’re not exactly sure where the next fight will be yet but I would hope to have that together in the next week or so. I think next week we’ll probably have an agreement and then an announcement.”