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Three individuals familiar with Wilder's thinking said he was not sold that DAZN could deliver Joshua for the showdown, and he also assesses even more money can be available down the road. Wilder manager Shelly Finkel said he was also troubled by DAZN not revealing what Joshua would be paid for the fight.
Representatives of both DAZN and Showtime confirmed they are working with the respective heavyweights on a fight-by-fight basis, so if the unification happens, it will likely go to the highest broadcast bidder.
DAZN tried to be that, believing its connection to Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn would keep the Brit on board if a Wilder deal could’ve been completed. So DAZN offered Wilder $20 million to fight Breazeale on DAZN, and another $80 million guaranteed to fight Joshua twice more after that.
That keeps with Skipper’s point in his visit to the Los Angeles Times last week, where he said his “fresh set of eyes” to previous acrimony between the fighters’ camps could help bridge them together.
Skipper reminded Wilder at the meeting that he was offering the Alabama slugger “unprecedented” money, according to an individual who attended the session, to which Wilder’s powerful manager and Premier Boxing Champions head Al Haymon whispered in Wilder’s ear and referred to the massive sum as “training camp money” to Haymon’s retired fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“They handled it unprofessionally, to be honest. They went to that meeting just because they needed to know how much to supplement Wilder from what [Showtime] was offering,” said the individual, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Showtime’s Espinoza, meanwhile, told The Times after Wilder’s news conference that the network which brought Joshua to U.S. television intends to have “continuing discussions” with Wilder to stage the Joshua fight.
Espinoza affirmed to reporters that Showtime, which has taken a backseat to Fox with PBC this quarter, is stronger than ever and plans to remain a viable player in boxing broadcasting.
Representatives of both DAZN and Showtime confirmed they are working with the respective heavyweights on a fight-by-fight basis, so if the unification happens, it will likely go to the highest broadcast bidder.
DAZN tried to be that, believing its connection to Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn would keep the Brit on board if a Wilder deal could’ve been completed. So DAZN offered Wilder $20 million to fight Breazeale on DAZN, and another $80 million guaranteed to fight Joshua twice more after that.
That keeps with Skipper’s point in his visit to the Los Angeles Times last week, where he said his “fresh set of eyes” to previous acrimony between the fighters’ camps could help bridge them together.
Skipper reminded Wilder at the meeting that he was offering the Alabama slugger “unprecedented” money, according to an individual who attended the session, to which Wilder’s powerful manager and Premier Boxing Champions head Al Haymon whispered in Wilder’s ear and referred to the massive sum as “training camp money” to Haymon’s retired fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“They handled it unprofessionally, to be honest. They went to that meeting just because they needed to know how much to supplement Wilder from what [Showtime] was offering,” said the individual, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Showtime’s Espinoza, meanwhile, told The Times after Wilder’s news conference that the network which brought Joshua to U.S. television intends to have “continuing discussions” with Wilder to stage the Joshua fight.
Espinoza affirmed to reporters that Showtime, which has taken a backseat to Fox with PBC this quarter, is stronger than ever and plans to remain a viable player in boxing broadcasting.
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