Initially, Anthony Joshua and Wilder’s bout was anticipated to take place in December or January 2024 in the Middle East after it was confirmed that the two sides were ready to fight.
As a result of the delay, Joshua will now take part in a stopgap fight before possibly facing the American boxer in the spring.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, told iFL TV that the fight will certainly happen but can’t take place earlier than March 2024.
“He wants to, he really wants to (fight). We’ve been on calls with him all week. A lot is happening with the IBF situation. We’ll have to see. I think he’s going to fight in December or January,” said Hearn.
“I think the Wilder fight, realistically, is not going to happen until March or April, at the latest. But he wants to fight. He wants to go back to camp and asked us to try and make him a fight for December; whether that spills into January, we’ll see.”
In his most recent match, which took place in August, the Nigerian-born boxer triumphed over Robert Helenius.
Joshua is also being considered for a shot at the IBF world championship, which may become vacant following Tyson Fury’s eagerly anticipated December 23 match in Saudi Arabia against Oleksandr Usyk.
Over the past three years, Joshua has fought four times, winning two and losing two. His two defeats came in matches for the world championship against Usyk, but he bounced back to defeat Jermaine Franklin and then Helenius by knockout.
On the other hand, Wilder has been even less active, having only participated in bouts twice over the previous two years. Before that, Tyson Fury, who still holds the WBC title which he hasn’t defended since last December, handed him back-to-back defeats.
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