Wilder's Manager: "We Want a Fight with Joshua"

In an interview with World Boxing News, Shelly Finkel, the manager of former heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs), expressed their desire for a fight against Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs).

"I hope that a fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder can still happen. We have always said we want this fight. Hopefully, we will soon have news about Deontay's next fight, but not right now. We want a fight with Joshua. Eddie Hearn said he reached out to me in August, but we had a fight against Robert Helenius. We announced it in the same month. But we said we wouldn't talk to anyone until after the Helenius fight. Eddie knew this but still said he reached out to us. Now we're ready to talk to make a deal with Joshua," Finkel said.

On March 8 in Saudi Arabia, Anthony Joshua fought Francis Ngannou, sending his opponent to the canvas in the first round and finishing the confrontation with a second knockdown, followed by a knockout punch in the second round.

Deontay Wilder last entered the ring in December against Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) and lost by unanimous decision.