Anthony Joshua repeatedly stated Thursday that he is fully focused on opposing Otto Wallin on December 23.

The former IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion didn’t deny, though, during a Zoom interview with a small group of reporters that a deal is in place for him to finally fight Deontay Wilder on March 9. ESPN.com’s Mike Coppinger reported Wednesday that representatives for Joshua and Wilder have reached an agreement on money for a March 9 showdown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is contingent on Joshua beating Wallin and Wilder defeating Joseph Parker on the same card December 23 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

“In terms of finalized, I’m not too sure,” Joshua said. “I’m not too sure. I think for me, personally, I’ve got a great management team. And, you know, they’re always looking steps ahead. But for me as an athlete, I don’t know much about it. My main focus is purely on my opponent and Otto Wallin.”

England’s Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) and Alabama’s Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) have been placed on the same pay-per-view card because The General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, which is fully funding the stacked December 23 event, arranged for them to fight each other next. Joshua acknowledged Thursday the magnitude of a fight with Wilder, a former WBC champion, but the British superstar emphasized that Sweden’s Wallin is a capable opponent who cannot be overlooked.

“The Wilder fight’s big for sure, and it’s always good to have a view of the landscape in front of you,” Joshua said. “But my main focus is Wallin, so in terms of his thoughts about Wilder, I have no comment on that because my main focus is on my opponent. And he’s got a chance. Every fighter’s got a chance. He wants to become the first Swedish heavyweight champion. My goal is to upset those odds, so we both have our goals and our targets. And at the end of the day, the best man will be victorious.”

Joshua, 34, is listed by DraftKings sportsbook as a more than a 3-1 favorite versus Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC), who is most known for bloodying and testing Tyson Fury during a 12-round, non-title fight Fury won by unanimous decision in September 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Wilder, 38, is an even bigger favorite, 6-1 according to DraftKings, to conquer New Zealand’s Parker (33-3, 23 KOs), a former WBO champ, in their 12-round co-feature on the Joshua-Wallin undercard a week from Saturday (11 a.m. ET; 8 a.m. PT; $39.99).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.