The mouthwatering prospect of Anthony Joshua finally facing the American Deontay Wilder in a huge heavyweight title reunification fight has moved several steps closer, with the Englishman’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, saying he expects a deal for a showdown – which will most likely take place in February 2019 – to be agreed in the next month.
Before then, however, Joshua will almost certainly face the Russian Alexander Povetkin in September at either Wembley, Twickenham or Old Trafford. “The Povetkin deal will be finalised in the next 72 hours,” Hearn said. “The Wilder one is not, but we’re talking every day. A deal will be done with Wilder in the next month but we will probably move on a Povetkin fight before that. Wilder would be December at the earliest, probably February.”