Deontay Wilder lifts lid on Anthony Joshua fight plan with warm-up considered

Deontay Wilder has confirmed that he intends to return to the ring late this summer, ahead of a potential December clash with Anthony Joshua. The Bronze Bomber is part of a proposed four-fighter headline bill that could also see Tyson Fury face Oleksandr Usyk in the Arab state at the end of the year.

Although British fighter Joshua has already confirmed that he will face an opponent in August, up until now reports have suggested that Wilder would be happy to sit it out until a possible showdown with his rival comes to pass around Christmas time.

But speaking at a recent PFL event, Wilder has dismissed those claims that confirmed that he plans to fight twice this year with his first bout expected to be towards the end of the summer.

Wilder said: “We got a lot of great things coming up. It’s been a bit of a dilemma of what path to take, what is available and what is not. There’s so many different things in the fight game. This business is one of the most difficult around because it’s unstructured.

“We’re narrowing down, and people should see me back in maybe August, no later than September.”

It will be Wilder’s first appearance in the ring since his knockout win – the 21st of his career – against Robert Helenius, in which his opponent was dispatched with just Wilder’s third punch of the fight.

Wilder was then ordered to face Andy Ruiz Jr. as a final eliminator before facing Tyson Fury last November, but the pair were unable to make any headway in talks. However, the two former world champions could still yet face each other in the ring this August.

Ruiz is one of a number of possible opponents for American Wilder, who held the WBC World Heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020.

But all eyes will be on the prospect of a mouth-watering face-off with Joshua in December, and the two-timed unified heavyweight world champion has already received an offer from Saudi Arabia, albeit not yet a fight contract.

With sporting investment high on the agenda in the Gulf state, Skill Challenge Entertainment has been given the go-ahead to try and attract some of boxing’s biggest stars. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed to IFL TV that an offer had arrived on his table.

Discussing a recent set-to with rival promoter Frank Warren over a possible bout against Tyson Fury, Hearn said: “[Bob] Arum, Warren, even my old man, it is the same thing. Ban them from interviews, because they have lost the plot. They say crazy things.

“It looked so desperate because they are desperate. They have no offer from Saudi Arabia and they have no fight. We have an offer without a contract so we need to wait on that contract but let’s not forget, Frank’s never done a fight with Saudi Arabia. I’ve done two fights.”