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During a press conference today to officially announce Gennady Golovkin’s six-fight deal with DAZN, executive John Skipper from the streaming network was also asked about recent reports that he would be taking a meeting with WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder sometime this week.
Skipper played it close to the vest, but not too close.
“I personally never have any comment until we have something to announce,” Skipper told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “I don’t have anything to announce, so I don’t have any comment, other than we want to put the best fights on DAZN.
“We want to put the fights on that people want to see. It’s pretty clear that one fight people want to see is Anthony Joshua fight Deontay Wilder. That’s all the comment I have on that.”
Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KO) and Joshua (22-0, 21 KO) are the two recognized titleholders in the heavyweight division, Wilder holding the WBC title and Joshua the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts. They are both charismatic, both big punchers, both in their prime years. A fight between the two, which would fully unify the division for at least a few hours, is high on pretty much every boxing fan’s wishlist right now, and has been for a while.
There were Joshua-Wilder talks last year, you’ll recall, but everything broke down to the point that there has reportedly been no communication between the camps in months.
But when a money rematch with Tyson Fury was scrapped as Fury signed with Top Rank and ESPN, Wilder lost the potential for a truly big fight right now. At the moment, his orders from the WBC are to face mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale, which is tentatively targeted for May 18, possibly on Showtime pay-per-view.
But that deal isn’t done, and we may not wind up seeing it, depending on what happens when Wilder and DAZN talk. It was reported by The Ring’s Mike Coppinger that Skipper is expected to present Wilder with a multi-fight deal, at least $20 million per fight, and that the second fight on the contract would be a bout with Joshua.
That’s a lot — that’s life-changing money and then some. And it’s clear, if those figures are accurate, that DAZN has serious interest in singing Deontay Wilder. It’s all wait and see right now, though.