Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua still believes he will get a fight with Deontay Wilder in the future, but Wilder's upcoming fight against Tyson Fury could prove to be very beneficial for Wilder.
Joshua spoke with Sky Sports and spoke on the Wilder vs. Fury fight, planned to take place later this year in the United States. While Joshua insists that he will fight Wilder in the future, a win over Fury for Wilder could benefit the WBC champion if and when Wilder and Joshua restart negotiations for their superfight to crown the next undisputed heavyweight champion.
“We have to fight – there’s no two ways about it... That is why I know the strategy is for him to fight Fury after a three-year layoff. He’s got a good chance of beating him. It will boost his profile, so when he comes back to the negotiating table he will have a better leg to stand on,” Joshua said.
Fury has called out Joshua in past months looking to have a fight against the unified champion. Fury was the last boxer to simultaneously hold all three titles that Joshua currently holds. Fury has only fought twice since making his return to the ring after a two-and-a-half year break from boxing.
Although the fight between Wilder and Fury, for Wilder's WBC title, has yet to be officially announced, it is expected that the fight will take place either in Las Vegas or New York on a pay-per-view produced by Showtime.
Meanwhile, Joshua will defend his unified WBA "super," WBO and IBF heavyweight titles against mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin on September 22 at Wembley Stadium. That fight will be streamed in the United States on the DAZN service. Joshua is slated to fight at Wembley in April 2019 with the hope that it is a fight against Wilder in front of potentially more than 100,000 fans.
