Anthony Joshuas promoter Eddie Hearn preparing counterproposal for Deontay Wilder
Eddie Hearn have revealed Anthony Joshua is not yet close to signing a contract to fight Deontay Wilder, but he is preparing a counterproposal for the WBC champion.
Wilder and his team have issued Joshua with a £36million fight offer, but Hearn has branded the proposal as more of a PR stunt than a serious offer.
Joshua holds the IBF, WBA (Super) and WBO heavyweight titles and wants to claim Wilders WBC strap to become the undisputed unified champion.
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Fight fans are desperate to see Wilder and Joshua go toe-to-toe in the ring, but Hearn insisted talks are nowhere near being finalised.
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We cant agree a deal until we have a dozen very important questions answered, Hearn told Sky Sports.
Im thinking about making a counterproposal this week. I will go back with some very simple questions, which hopefully they can answer, to put us in a position to know whether it is worth talking.
I have spoken to AJ multiple times – he wants this fight. Wilder wants this fight.
I work for Joshua, he is my boss. If he tells me to make a fight, it is my job to make the fight. The gamble from their side is that they want Joshua in their backyard, in America, they want to beat him, and become undisputed champion.
Okay, but we need a fair playing field. We need to make sure we have some control and input into this process. One of the questions – where is the fight going to be? We dont think thats obscene to ask.
If its in the UK the offer becomes more attractive. If its in America, we can still do that, but we need to talk about these things.
Wilder has accused Joshua of dodging him, while Hearn has repeatedly said in the past week that a contract should be sent over.
Joshua is fresh off his second unification triumph while Wilder added the 39th knockout of his career to his record by stopping Luis Ortiz in March.
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