Wilder’s manager wants Anthony Joshua next

Following Deontay Wilder’s brief but emphatic knockout of Bermane Stiverne on Saturday, his manager, Jay Deas, says it’s time to start putting together a heavyweight unification with Anthony Joshua. After all, the two heavyweight titlists just fought on back-to-back weekends so their schedules aligned, and since Eddie Hearn will be Stateside this week promoting Daniel Jacobs vs. Luis Arias, Deas would like to get the ball rolling.

“My understanding is that Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn is in New York currently. This is ideal as our promoter Lou DiBella and my co-manager Shelly Finkel are also in New York and Al Haymon is only a call away.

“Our team is ready, willing and able to meet at Eddie's earliest convenience.”

Hearn, however, doesn’t seem like he’s in a rush to put together a Wilder-Joshua fight, instead offering Dillian Whyte to Wilder in the interim. Wilder took that offer as a slap in the face, believing he doesn’t need to prove himself in order to secure a fight with Joshua, but ultimately agreed to fight Whyte so long as Hearn would guarantee a bout with Joshua after. Hearn has provided no such assurance.

With that said, it’s basically a given that Wilder and Joshua won’t be happening next. Heck, it may not even be the fight after next. But this is a showdown that should happen sooner than later, and if negotiations drag on past 2018 it would be a damn shame — particularly for the fans.