Hearn: We need to know if Deontay Wilder wants to fight Anthony Joshua in April

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn tells ESPN that since Anthony Joshua has an April 13th fight date locked in at Wembley Stadium, he’ll need to know relatively quickly if Deontay Wilder is willing to come to terms to be the opponent.

“We need to know if they [Wilder’s camp] want the fight in April,” Hearn told ESPN at Joshua’s open workout at York Hall on Wednesday. “If Anthony beats Povetkin, we’ve probably got two, three weeks to make the Wilder fight -- otherwise we’ll have to fight a WBO mandatory.”

Hearn then seems to spin the whole situation by continually suggesting that Deontay Wilder has been the one holding up an undisputed heavyweight title unification bout with Joshua, despite lots of evidence to the contrary.

”It’s frustrating, especially frustrating when people think that Anthony is stalling the fight or we’re stalling the fight. We’re ready to go. We’ve already sent a signed contract on the terms they agreed.”

Hearn would continue by expressing his skepticism that the announced Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury fight will actually end up happening, especially since there’s been no word on any of the particulars ever since it was first announced several weeks ago — which is sort of curious to be honest. Going completely based on current rumors and innuendo, it’s been suggested that Wilder-Fury might be targeted for early next year instead of December due to Floyd Mayweather’s impending return that month.

At this point a lot is still up in the air, obviously, but if Wilder-Fury does happen in early 2019, it makes the chances of Wilder facing Joshua in April an increasingly slim possibility.