After years of vitriolic exchanges, promoter Eddie Hearn and former heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder appear to have patched things up.

The two will be involved on the same card on Dec. 23 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when Wilder takes on fellow former titlist Joseph Parker. Hearn’s ace client, Anthony Joshua, will be sharing headlining duties with Wilder, in a separate fight with Swedish contender Otto Wallin. The stacked card also features a heavyweight bout between Daniel Dubois and Jarrell Miller, as well as the return of fighters such as Dmitry Bivol, Jai Opetaia, and Filip Hrgovic.

Talk of a Wilder vs. Joshua fight has raged on the past year but efforts to mount it have thus far been unsuccessful. Should both fighters get past their respective opponents next month, there will be added pressure to stage that matchup.

If nothing else, for now, the bad blood between Wilder and Hearn seems to have dissipated.

Wilder recently posted a picture on his Instagram that showed him posing fondly with Hearn inside a plane going back to the United States after the press conference in London for the Dec. 23 card last week. Wilder added the following caption:

“Damn, this is wilder than Wilder. If you know the history, they you know what’s understood; it doesn’t have to be explained.

“I will title this picture ‘Old Endings for a New Beginning’.

“Finally, the boxing fans will get what they’ve been waiting YEARS for. The only thing that stands in the way now is Dec 23.”

Asked to comment about what transpired in his plane ride with Wilder, Hearn offered a positive assessment of their brief encounter, saying that they had an encouraging conversation regarding a potential fight with Joshua.

“The problem is in boxing, a lot of these interviews … ‘so and so said this, what have you got to say?’ And people see one line, people see clickbait and headlines and they make their own decisions,” Hearn told FightHubTV. “He (Wilder) would’ve seen interviews and gone, ‘I don’t like that guy.’ He’s already made his mind up. And that’s how it has been for five or six years. And I’ve definitely said something that I shouldn’t have. But we all talk with emotion from time to time and him vice versa. He looks like he has chilled out a little bit.

“On the plane today it was like we’ve been having good meetings and we think we’re gonna get this fight done. So good luck on December 23rd. We spoke for a few minutes, had a little picture, he posted it.

“I know I’m outspoken and sometimes I can rub some people the wrong way but if you actually meet me and we talk socially, most people go ‘Oh, he’s alright,’” Hearn said. “I think that’s what Deontay did. If he beats Parker and AJ beats Wallin I’m sure we’ll have some choice words in the buildup.

“But I respect him. He’s a very entertaining heavyweight. I just think that our guy will win. But I know that at any time, he can beat any man on this planet. He’s great for the sport of boxing. Great for the heavyweight division.”

Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.