Deontay Wilder plots route back to Anthony Joshua fight despite surprise defeat

12 January 2024 , 16:00

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Deontay Wilder plots route back to Anthony Joshua fight despite surprise defeat

Deontay Wilder wants to fight on the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou card to try and rescue his mega-fight with the Brit.

Wilder's two-fight deal with 'AJ' went down the drain last month after he lost to Joseph Parker just moments before Joshua knocked out Otto Wallin. Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou has since taken Wilder's place in the heavyweight equation as he will fight Joshua on March 8 in Saudi Arabia.

Zhilei Zhang has been touted as a potential opponent for Wilder but the fight is far from official. Wilder's manager Shelly Finkel thinks the American can redeem himself after his poor performance with one win against a big name. “ If there was an opportunity, we’d be glad to consider it. We’d love to go back there and love to be on that card if it’s possible," he told The Sun.

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“You can’t tell in advance, but I’d assume that Joshua would beat Ngannou. Then hopefully, we’ll see the Deontay of old and he wins. Of course, if those two were to happen, it would still be natural for Deontay and Joshua to meet." Finkel used Daniel Dubois as an example of a fighter bouncing back to winning ways as he stopped Jarrell Miller following his world title loss to Oleksandr Usyk.

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"Go back two fights. People were saying Daniel Dubois was a quitter. He sure didn’t quit against Jarrell Miller and redeemed himself. Three fights ago, people said things about Joshua. He looked very good in his fight with Wallin and that redeemed himself in the same way. In a similar situation, Deontay has a good opponent in the next fight and he looks the way we know him to look," Finkel added.

“We would love Parker but that hasn’t been discussed. In either case, if Zhang was presented, that would be a big fight. If that was on the same card as the fight with Joshua and Ngannou, I think Deontay and Zhang would rival that. It would be a phenomenal show for the public again. I think the job that they did putting on all the heavyweights together on that card was wonderful.”

Wilder isn't in Joshua's plans for now as the Brit wants to beat Ngannou and challenge either Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world titles. Ngannou is also targeting a rematch against Fury after controversially losing to the Brit in their crossover fight last October.

Harry Davies