Golden shot
Wilder’s dream offer to pave the way for £100m Joshua extravaganza
EDDIE HEARN wants to sign Deontay Wilder in the first step towards a £100m showdown with heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua.
Wilder is a free agent and Hearn is preparing an offer to the unbeaten WBC champion to become his promoter.
He’s willing to double Wilder’s best purse for a fight with Dillian Whyte, setting up a clash with Joshua who takes on Joseph Parker on Saturday night.
“Yeah I’d definitely like to sign Deontay Wilder,” said Matchroom’s MD. “That’s a real possibility. I could pay him probably double his highest ever purse to face Whyte and then I could set up the Joshua fight very easily.”
Hearn had hoped Wilder would be ringside for Joshua’s unification clash with WBO title holder Parker but it looks increasingly unlikely that the American will come to Cardiff.
WBA Super and IBF king Joshua was unhappy with Wilder’s insistence he should come into the ring at the end to challenge the winner to face him for the undisputed world heavyweight title.
Instead Wilder, who has 39 stoppages from his perfect 40-0 record, is likely to watch the fight from Stateside and he is adamant he will be the division’s kingpin regardless of who wins on Saturday.
“I’ve been saying it for years, I’m the best in the division, which I proved to the haters against Luis Ortiz,” said the Bronze Bomber.
“I love proving people wrong and I will do it time and time again. Us Americans choose our own path, I do what I want to do.
“I’m too athletic, I’m too hostile, I punch too hard. No other heavyweight has the agility I have. I move like a middleweight.
“I’m very confident in what I do in the ring. There’s no man that I have stood in front of that I haven’t knocked out. I am the one that ends all of their plans. I’m too dangerous for them.”
Wilder doesn’t want to waste time with Whyte and would rather skip straight to the Joshua match.
The 32-year-old said: “A king doesn’t chase a peasant. I want Joshua, not Whyte. If they don’t give me that fight I have other plans. Why should I go to England and fight a peasant?
“If AJ beats Parker there is no more waiting. The fans want it, I want it. Eddie and AJ – don’t wait, make the date!”
The match between Joshua and Wilder could potentially take place in Las Vegas. But a rematch clause for the showdown in Cardiff could mean Joshua would have to fight Parker again before Wilder, should he lose Saturday’s fight.
Promoters Hearn and David Higgins agreed a 55-45 per cent purse split in favour of Parker should the Kiwi win the heavyweight clash at the Principality Stadium. This would also hit Joshua in the pocket as Saturday’s agreement is 65-35 per cent in his favour.
“The rematch is a rollover of a co-promotion deal, so major decisions would be jointly made,” said Higgins.
“So the answer is we would jointly consult and despite the banter, the two teams have worked well together commercially.
“The split favours Joe. Normally fights end up where they make the most economic sense so I would think it would be in Europe in the summer, probably outdoor, but we’re not focused on that. We’re only focused on Joshua.”