Anthony Joshua’s path to a showdown with Tyson Fury is looking much clearer after the British boxer knocked out Robert Helenius on August 13. The Finnish heavyweight was a late replacement for Dillian Whyte after the 35-year-old failed a voluntary drug test, but he was to feel the wrath of a knockout blow from Joshua in the seventh round that ended the contest there and then.
Talks are now well underway for Joshua to face Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia early next year. It had been hoped that the pair would meet in the Middle East in December as part of a mega double headline bill with Fury and Oleksandr Usyk but despite that proposal now being dead in the water it still looks like Joshua’s day of destiny with American Wilder will come to pass.
The contest may have no belts on the line, but the stakes are still high. Aside from the multi-million-pound fight purse that will be on offer, the winner will be able to stake a legitimate claim to being the number one challenger for Fury, who has not defended his WBC title all year.
Wilder and Joshua are the WBC’s top-ranked challengers, either side of Andy Ruiz Jr who reportedly continues to price himself out of a contest with Fury. As a result, a showdown between Wilder and Joshua in Saudi Arabia may turn into an eliminator contest, with the winner becoming Fury’s mandatory challenger.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, was asked by Boxing Social if he would be pushing for the proposed bout to become an eliminator, but he played down the idea, revealing that his client already had acceptable terms agreed for a fight with Fury.
Hearn said: “Good question, but sometimes when you do that it affects your bargaining position. I’ll give you an example. Tyson Fury already agreed to 60/40 with Anthony Joshua.
“If he [Joshua] becomes mandatory, it’s 70/30 with the WBC. So probably not.”
Fury’s lack of activity in the ring has been in part due to a failure to agree acceptable terms with his opponents. The most high-profile example is a 70/30 offer made to triple-belt holder Usyk.
“If he beats Wilder, AJ, I think the [Fury] fight becomes 50/50. But Fury as champion, 60/40 at the moment is fair,” Hearn added.
“Don’t forget when AJ was champion and Fury wasn’t, [Fury] said he would only take the fight at 50/50. But we’re prepared to take 60/40, which has kind of been agreed ultimately anyway.”
Before Joshua can even think about facing Fury, however, he must overcome Wilder in a match-up that is expected to reignite boxing fan’s appetite for the heavyweight division.