16 June 2023 , 15:47
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Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte's end-of-summer stadium fight night could be off after Whyte turned down an offer from promoter Eddie Hearn to stage the contest.
The duo have been rivals since their amateur days, with Whyte handing Joshua his first ever loss as a youngster before having the favour returned in the paid ranks. But their highly-anticipated professional rematch may have to wait as Whyte was unhappy with Hearn's deal for the grudge match.
August 12 has been set as the fight date, with Joshua planning to get out once before his massive money December showdown against Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia. But the two-time heavyweight champion will likely need to find an opponent after Whyte asked for a considerably larger sum, which Hearn won't be able to reach.
“So we spoke last night to his team and this morning," Hearn told iFL TV. "We made an offer, and they felt that offer was unacceptable. We may be too far out on the money to make that fight. We’re looking at two other opponents for August 12. The key for us, if we can’t make the Deontay Wilder fight it’s not that it has to be Dillian. AJ wants it, that’s the fight AJ wanted."
There is a massive money offer in the Middle East for Wilder and Joshua to fight, with Hearn recently returning from a trip to Riyadh where he met with officials from Saudi Arabia. The American is keen on the bout, as is Joshua, but nothing is absolutely signed of today.
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"If we’ve got the Wilder fight done, we can fight someone else from the top 15 on August 12," Hearn added. "We still want a decent, proper fight to prepare yourself for Deontay Wilder. But if we can’t get the Wilder fight done, then we need a much bigger fight on August 12, or we look at Tyson Fury in September.
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"But I believe, and Frank spoke to the guys at Skills Challenge last night, that we’re going to get that fight made with Wilder. “So once we do that August 12th, if we can’t make a Dillian Whyte fight, then we take someone else in the top 15. AJ’s desire to fight Dillian Whyte.
“For me, I think if you’ve got Deontay Wilder locked in for December, fighting Dillian Whyte on August 12th is risky, bear in mind the amount of money you’re about to fight Deontay Wilder for, but he and Derrick James specifically requested Dillian Whyte. The issue is the money Dillian Whyte wants and the money AJ wants.
"The market is starting to change a little bit in general for boxing, and I don’t think we can get to the number that Dillian wants for that fight, in all honesty. I think Dillian wants to fight, and I think AJ wants to fight, but we may well run out of time."