By Edward Chaykovsky
Promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport has continued negotiations to finalize a deal that would see Anthony Joshua defend his IBF heavyweight title against Wladimir Klitschko.
If a deal gets reached, the fight would happen on December 10th. If their discussions fall through, then Joshua would return on November 26th against an opponent to be determined.
The talks for Joshua-Klitschko began almost immediately after IBO/WBA/WBO champion Tyson Fury withdrew from his October 29th rematch with Klitschko.
According to Hearn, the bulk of the deal has been completed but there are still certain terms that have yet to be finalized and other obstacles that both sides need to overcome, but nothing that he feels would prevent the fighting from happening.
"While you can never put every egg in the basket, most are in there now, saying 'this is next'," Hearn told Sky Sports News HQ. "Now it's a case of going through the finer points of the agreement and I feel like most of the deal is done but there are still a lot of obstacles that can interrupt our progress. They are not really obstacles I feel should stop the fight from happening."
Recently, former world champion David Haye announced that he was fighting on December 10th. Hearn ruled out any possibility that Haye would be the opponent for Joshua. He does view Haye as a possible Joshua opponent for 2017. After more than a two year layoff, Haye returned to the ring earlier this year and has already picked up two knockout wins against overmatched competition.
"He's not fighting AJ but there are rumours he might go the same night. I think that's a fight that's not too far away either but the Klitschko fight is the one that really whets the appetite. If we can get a couple of belts on the line, that would be fantastic.
"I just feel like it is the right fight for Anthony Joshua right now. He is committed, his training team is committed, I am committed, and I think Bernd [Boente, Klitschko's manager] and Wladimir are as well. If we can make sure everything is right, which I hope it is, then I think we will get there."
"If a deal is going to be done, I think it should be done by the end of this week and if it's not, there is probably going to be a problem. Of course we want to announce the fight but, at the same time, fights of this magnitude do take time and you have to make sure all the boxes are ticked."
