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Tickets are available to purchase for O2 Priority customers NOW via www.theo2.co.uk and go on sale to Fight Pass members at 2.00pm on Tuesday March 12 via www.stubhub.co.uk
General Sale tickets are available to purchase at midday on Wednesday March 13 from StubHub (www.stubhub.co.uk), The O2 (www.theo2.co.uk) and Matchroom Boxing (www.matchroomboxing.com)
Read more on Matchroom Boxing HERE
Boxing ‘Big Baby’ targeting UK scalp as he prepares for Dinu in Kansas
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Read more on A Wild night in Kansas plus fighter comments HERE
Read more on Miller, Rios and Shields HERE
Read more on Matchroom Boxing Event HERE
Images by Ed Mulholland of Matchroom Boxing
Everything you need to know, minus everything you don’t, in the build up to the mega fight of the generation.
SO, WHAT’S GOING ON NOW?
At the moment of writing this article, the mouth-watering match-up between England’s Anthony Joshua and America’s Deontay Wilder is looking decidedly shaky. At least for this year.
WHAT ARE THE PRESS SAYING?
If you’ve been living under a rock (a rock with no WiFi), they’re basically making a lot of noise. Click bait mainly. Look up some longer interviews with each of the main players to get the real story.
I HAVEN’T GOT TIME, WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
ANTHONY JOSHUA:
Absolutely nothing. Is that a display of his cowardice? Absolutely not. His class? Yeah, maybe. Or perhaps his cunning? More likely. He defers to promoter Eddie Hearn for the verbals.
EDDIE HEARN:
A lot. He’s accusing Deontay Wilder of avoiding signing the contract. Not because he’s thinks Wilder is scared (that wouldn’t help Hearn to sell Wilder as a mega opponent down the line) but because he reckons Wilder’s team are delaying for business reasons.
DEONTAY WILDER:
Essentially that he’s ready to fight Joshua anywhere, so long as the price is right. Love him or hate him, Wilder is doing his own talking. He’s not a man accustomed to utilising a million-dollar education or an accounting degree or a team of marketing & legal experts to do his talking for him (although he certainly seems wise enough & wealthy enough to attain all three). So in the war of words, he’s left fighting his own corner against the much more experienced and slippery Eddie Hearn. Yes, a lot of it could be hooey & hype, but if you avoid the cut-down Instagram videos, Tweets & click-baity headlines that social media are punting out, you’ll see he comes across fairly straight and honest once he’s got going.
SO WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON THEN?
What seems to be happening, depending on your stance and your level of cynicism, is the following…
Joshua is ready to fight Wilder. Wilder is ready to fight Joshua. But promoter Eddie Hearn has realised that if Joshua takes a tune up first, they can all make a lot more money. And, perhaps more importantly, the fighters won’t risk their clean records against each other, before it’s absolutely necessary to do so.
Joshua & Wilder, each having knocked out all of their opponents-bar-one, are each other’s worst nightmare in terms of risk – a loss could damage their respective careers and their ticket sales forever.
Hearn has not, of course, actually stated that he’s holding his fighter (AJ) back, but he has been accused of low-balling Wilder when sending out the contract and he did seem very quick to talk about moving on when Wilder’s team questioned the details.
In short, for the money men and potentially for the fans too – much like the teenage romance story this is turning into – the longer it builds up, the more attractive it becomes.
But that plan comes with a caveat. A shelf life. Deontay Wilder is now 32. In two years time he will be 34. And then people will start to call him over the hill. He won’t be, but people will say it. And at that point, we have another Lewis-Tyson scenario, another Calzaghe-Hopkins, another Mayweather-Pacquiao. Ahh, they will sigh… but he never faced him at his peak!
SO WHAT IF JOSHUA WILDER DOESN’T HAPPEN THIS YEAR?
It’s certainly possible. Perhaps even likely. Afterall, the WBA have ordered Joshua (who holds their belt) to fight mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin this year, and if that happens, Wilder will be left looking for a name for his own tune-up.
Fight Scene predicts that this will be against another British heavyweight.
Once the Matchroom engine revs up and roars into action, Hearn will likely take advantage of Deontay’s situation by pushing a big-name-Brit under the Wilder bus, to test the potential ticket sales for a UK fighter in the states.
They will then announce a new Joshua-Wilder date next April.
SO WHO SHOULD WIN, REALLY?
Joshua should. Really. (Note to reader: yes, I said that about David Haye last time out, let it go…)
Anthony Joshua is the complete package. Too big and too strong with a decent set of boxing skills. He’s also at the sweet spot in his career where he’s still young, fresh and hungry, but has the recent experience of beating a string of champions.
But let’s take a look at the other side for a moment…
It could be said by doubters that Joshua has only faced one real name – Wladimir Klitschko – a man already beaten by another British heavyweight with questions marks against his career, Tyson Fury.
And even Wlad, who was not known for explosive power even at his peak, managed to knock AJ down. He shook him to the core and almost ended him.
In his two fights since then, both in Cardiff… AJ first struggled against the smaller last-minute opponent, Carlos Takam, before it was stopped on cuts, many say prematurely… and then struggled to a boring points win against Kiwi Joseph Parker.
He’s also had just 21 fights, rarely going into the later rounds to test his stamina.
Deontay Wilder, on the other hand, has fought almost twice the number of opponents and has never even taken a knee. He’s knocked out all of them but one. That’s 39 heavyweights. Out cold.
The fight is still most likely gearing up to be a tight Joshua win (followed by a raucous rematch), but don’t underestimate the brutal punching power and the awkward, unpredictable, flashy style that Wilder will bring to the battle.
BY JON SUTTON
See next article for WBC Boss Mauricio Sulaiman’s thoughts on potential British replacements…
Fight Scene caught up with WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman for some perspective from across the pond.
FS: How’s the heavyweight scene looking right now Mauricio, are you excited?
MS: The world is delighted to see the heavyweight division so full of interest – there are so many matches that could be made to bring back the glory days of boxing. The heavyweight champion of the world is considered the strongest man on earth and that has been a matter of global interest for countless generations.
FS: Your organisation, the WBC, has Deontay Wilder as it’s champion. Is Deontay good for boxing?
MS: Yes. Absolutely. Wilder has reigned since 2014, he’s undefeated with 40 wins and 39 knockouts. He’s a true world champion who has fought in several countries and was ready to defend his title in Russia when the fight had to be called off just a week before.
FS: If Joshua talks finally fall apart, Wilder will be looking for a filler fight. Fury, Whyte and Bellew would all make good opponents, since they’re also British names who would add to the build-up on both sides of the Atlantic. Would you like to see any of these fights?
MS: Definitely. They would all make tremendous fights against Wilder. Each has clear differences.
FS: Could you break them down for us please?
MS: Of course….! Tyson Fury has the height and technique which present complications, however inactivity will be an uncertain factor. Dillian Whyte has the power, the will and the experience (having fought a bruising battle with AJ), but he has a style that makes Wilder more effective. Tony Bellew is a great story made into reality and he continues to surprise the fans with great victories. Wilder at 214 brings Bellew much closer to a reality and he’s even speaking about going down to Cruiserweight ! Any of these matches would be of great interest to the world!
By Jon Sutton
OK let’s face it, this is a warm up bout.
Seferi does hold some power, but will he land clean? Doubtful.
A man of Fury’s size is difficult to hit as it is but Tyson is notoriously awkward for a big man.
And even if Seferi does land clean, he is the much smaller man. He was only considered powerful as a Cruiserweight – the division in which he last fought just two fights ago.
To Fury’s credit, he will bring more than a size advantage Saturday night though. Since he beat Klitschko, went to hell and back with depression, then returned to the gym, Fury has lost a ton of weight and shown a ton of improvement in terms of speed, technique and movement – so don’t expect to see him in any trouble as he dances towards victory in the MEN tomorrow night.
Speaking of which… you boys planning on doing the business tomorrow night… or the Macarena?
Well what can we say… it WAS just a warm up bout afterall! Sefer Seferi retired after four rounds of very little punishment with his chin held high – and relatively undamaged – despite eating a big uppercut that forced his decision. Fury stated that he could have ended it in ten seconds but chose to get a few rounds under his belt instead. They hugged. They collected their pay cheques. Then they went home to their families.
Dillian Whyte, the man who shook Anthony Joshua both in and out of the ring, has lined up a fight against Joseph Parker, the only man to take AJ the distance.
Whilst it never makes good boxing sense to use maths for these equations, you can be certain that if Whyte knocks him out, he’ll stick that front and centre on his showreel as he hunts for a Joshua rematch.
So how could this fight go?
Whyte rocked AJ, Parker didn’t… Round 1 to Whyte. Parker went the distance though, Whyte didn’t… Round 2 to Parker.
After that, it’s anyone’s guess. But one thing we can predict is that Joseph Parker’s boxer style & granite chin will blend perfectly with Dillian Whyte’s move-in-and-throw-bombs style.
Why didn’t we think of this fight before?
In short, negotiations for both fights are ongoing.
Povetkin looks likely to sign in the next 36 hours, for a bruising battle with AJ, in a UK stadium, this September.
Wilder, whilst looking less of a certainty, is expected to happen in February, once the purse and the location can be agreed by both parties. But this could happen even sooner – Eddie Hearn expects it to be agreed within the next month.
