NEWS: WILDER WANTS JOSHUA; PROGRAIS EYES TAYLOR, RAMIREZ & MORE
By: Jay Calderon
WILDER'S MANAGER SAYS THEY WANT ANTHONY JOSHUA NEXT
According to an interview with WorldBoxingNews.net, Shelly Finkel, the manager of former Heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder, his charge is interested in finally taking on long-time rival Anthony Joshua.
For years, while the pair was unbeaten and held gold in the Heavyweight division, their teams had gone back and forth over the possibility of making the mega-bout happen. However, to no avail, as a deal was never able to come to fruition.
In the time since those failed negotiations, both Joshua and Wilder have fallen a bit from the top of the sport, with Wilder coming out the loser of a trilogy with British big man Tyson Fury, and with Joshua struggling, and losing twice to World Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Still, despite their respective stumbles, a bout between the pair would be both lucrative and attractive to fans. Which is perhaps why Finkel suggested Wilder would be willing to forgo a WBC eliminator with former world titlist Andy Ruiz in favor of the cross-Atlantic battle with Joshua.
While Finkel stated they "will do [the Andy Ruiz] fight if we can't get Joshua", Shelly explained that the priority is the Wilder-Joshua encounter -- and they want it next.
"Deontay wants the fight next," Finkel told WorldBoxingNews. "We've been trying since 2017 to get the Joshua fight. Let's make a deal and do the fight. The fans want to see it, so why not?"
Finkel also indicated they would be willing to travel for the contest, specifically citing England or the Middle East, where major championship bouts has been staged in recent times.
Finkel is certainly right about the fight still being a draw, regardless of whether a bit of the shine has been knocked off either fighter. A contest between two guys that can bang a little, can talk, and will know they need to win to remain relevant in the title picture will always sell.
What's more, fans that have hoped to see this fight for years will be more than interested in having the two finally settle the score.
In a strange way, this is about the best time for this fight to happen. Of course, at the height of their dominance would have been preferred. However, due to how desperate both men are for a big name win to set them back on track, it adds legitimate stakes to an explosive fight that doesn't have direct title implications attached.
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REGIS PROGRAIS WANTS JOSE RAMIREZ, JOSH TAYLOR
On Saturday in Carson, California, Regis Prograis became a two-time Jr. Welterweight titlist with a stoppage win over Jose Zepeda.
Now, with the big win under his belt, Prograis immediately injects himself back into the biggest fights at 140 pounds. During the post-fight press conference, Prograis was asked what direction he would like to take for his immediate future.
While Prograis wasn't too particular, and admitted to a new approach of trying to remain calm and humble, he expressed a couple of mouth-watering options.
The first was a mandatory challenger in Jose Ramirez, a former titlist Prograis claims has been ducking him for five years. The other direction was a return bout with old foe Josh Taylor, the man that handed Regis his only professional loss back in 2019.
"I'll let (my promoter) Richard (Schaefer) take over as far as maybe I'll do a unification, maybe I'll fight for the WBA title, maybe I'll do that. Maybe (I'll fight) Jose Ramirez, he's a mandatory," said Prograis, who stated that he doesn't plan to move up to Welterweight as of right now.
"Everybody knows that if I had a hit-list," Prograis continued, "Josh Taylor would be first on my list. So, there's a lot of big oportunities for me out there. We'll see."
Promoter Richard Schaefer also made sure to state they are willing to work with any and all promoters to make the best fights happen.
Personally, I imagine the Ramirez fight is the more likely of the options Prograis suggested could be next. For starters, he's a mandatory challenger, which could make negotiations move along a bit smoother.
The other issue with taking on Taylor instead of Ramirez is the upcoming schedule the former possesses. Currently, he's scheduled to take on Jack Catterall in early 2023 in a return bout to their highly-controversial encounter back in February, which many believes Catterall should have won.
What's more, the Catterall clash could be the last fight Taylor has at 140 pounds, as he has a history of struggling with making the Jr. Welterweight limit.
Either way, both fights are great options and most fans would take either fight for 2023. Let's hope at least one comes to fruition.
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EDDIE HEARN DISCUSSES ANTHONY JOSHUA-DILLIAN WHYTE
On Saturday at the OVO Arena in London, England, Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte narrowly-defeated American Jermaine Franklin.
While the bout was expected by most to be a stay-busy encounter for Whyte, Franklin fought very well and could have won the fight in some observer's eyes. Still, Whyte walked out with a majority decision victory.
During the post-fight press conference, promoter Eddie Hearn discussed the 2023 plans for his Heavyweight charges, which include the aforementioned Whyte and former world titlist Anthony Joshua.
Since their amateur days, which saw Whyte beat Joshua when they were unknown beginners, Dillian and Anthony have been rivals. They also faced off as upcoming professional prospects, which saw Joshua avenge the amateur loss via stoppage back in 2015.
When asked about the pair, Hearn stated there were many possibilities, including AJ taking on Franklin or the "rubbermatch" for Joshua-Whyte. However, he stressed that the pair are particularly looking for the biggest fights at the tail end of their respective careers.
And Hearn believes Joshua-Whyte II is still a big business fight.
"You know, genuinely I think they've always wanted to fight each other again," Hearn stated. "It's 1-1, you know, one from the amateurs (that Whyte won), one from the pros (that Joshua won). The second fight, which seems a lifetime away now, was just an epic night."
The aforementioned professional fight took place at the O2 Arena in London, which did well at the gate as well as on pay-per-view. Hearn believes this third chapter could land at Wembley Stadium.
"...I think we'll see what's next for Dillian. Maybe Dillian has one in February, March, and AJ has one in March or whatever, and then they meet in the summer at Wembley. Or maybe they go straight into it. We'll talk to everybody and see what's next," Hearn expressed.
Despite his recent losses to world champion Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua remains a big commodity in the sport. As mentioned, he still has big potential fights with Whyte and the aforementioned Deontay Wilder. Personally, I think most would prefer the Wilder encounter, but there is no denying the Whyte encounter would do massive numbers across the pond.
What's more, if Joshua were to pull through in explosive fashion against Whyte, it would only help build towards the potential Wilder encounter.
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