Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will reportedly fight on the same card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next month – just not against each other. Both fighters are said to be working on deals with Turki Alalshikh of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, who put on Tyson Fury‘s money-spinning crossover clash with Francis Ngannou last month.
But despite Wilder and Joshua’s representatives being locked into talks for the past few months over a blockbuster showdown between the pair, no contracts have been signed. And they are now set to box different opponents on the same bill, according to esteemed boxing journalist Dan Rafael.
The report adds that the card is being planned for December 23, the initially proposed date for Fury and Oleksandr Usyk‘s undisputed bout. However, after a dismal showing against Ngannou, the four-belt shootout has been pushed back to February while Wilder and Joshua fill the vacant slot.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren had previously teased a “massive night” on December 23 after confirming Fury would not be boxing Usyk at the back end of this year. “There’s gonna be a big night in December, and we’ll be announcing very soon,” Warren told talkSPORT.
“It will be massive. You’re gonna love it. I can’t give you all the information at the moment, but everything’s going in the right direction for it to be a historic night in boxing. It’s gonna feature boxers from all over the world. You will be surprised by the names. There’s some great British fighters too.”
It now appears that one of those “great British fighters” is Joshua while WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is reportedly in talks with the Saudis to get on the card as well.
The Saudis had planned to put on Joshua vs Wilder this year but much to the dismay of boxing fans both parties couldn’t work out the finances to stage the contest in 2023. There is now no clear date in sight heading into next year despite Eddie Hearn insisting that the fight was “virtually agreed” in July.
Hearn told Boxing News at the time: “Obviously with our meetings with the Saudis on Friday, and Thursday, we’re in a really great place we virtually have a deal agreed in principle subject to a few final discussions.”