Nigerian-British boxer, Anthony Joshua risks losing a whopping ₦45.5bn payday he is projected to earn in a December clash against Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia when he faces rival, Dillian Whyte in August.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn announced that a deal for the heavyweight super fight has been confirmed following productive meetings in London with representatives from Saudi Arabia and Wilder’s camp.
However, there appears to be a vital condition attached to the agreement; Joshua must emerge victorious in his upcoming bout.
The official confirmation came on Thursday, revealing that Joshua will first face Dillian Whyte in a much-anticipated rematch set for August 12. It is understood that the Wilder deal could collapse entirely if Joshua fails to secure a win.
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‘AJ’s got the Wilder fight locked in for December. We had meetings last week with the Saudis. Obviously, that’s one of the biggest fights in boxing, and he wanted to fight in the interim. He’s been working with Derrick James, he wanted to have that fight, and he was insistent it was Dillian Whyte,’ Hearn told TalkSPORT.
When pressed to clarify whether the Joshua vs. Wilder showdown would proceed regardless of the outcome against Whyte, Hearn responded, ‘No. We’ve been told categorically that the deal on the table is not the deal if he loses to Dillian Whyte.
‘They didn’t want him to fight Dillian Whyte. It was almost like, ‘Please, don’t fight Dillian Whyte. You don’t need to. We’ve got this fight in December.’ But AJ said, ‘No. I want to fight.’
Recall that the two-time heavyweight champion had earlier disclosed that a potential fight with Deontay Wilder is ‘95 percent done’ on his side and could happen in December if the deal goes through.
Talks are ongoing over a proposed ‘tournament’ in Saudi Arabia which could also involve Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight on the same card.