Anthony Joshua and Deontay wilder have kept boxing fans on tenterhooks over a potential meeting for nearly SIX years… amid their war of words, the signs are promising that a fight could happen but why has it taken so long to make?

It took Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao almost six years before they finally met in the ring.

Amid disputes over money, a £473 million ($600 million) deal was eventually reached, with both fighters putting aside their egos to compete in a blockbuster fight in 2015 that saw Mayweather claim victory via unanimous decision.

Interestingly, it took Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder almost as long to negotiate a deal to face each other in the ring.

Their highly anticipated fight has been the talk of the heavyweight division for almost six years, with the pair previously holding talks about a fight in 2017 where a unification bout was first touted.

A meeting between the two former heavyweight champions is something boxing fans have been anticipating for a while and may finally be on the card.

ESPN claimed last week that the duo had agreed a deal to return to Saudi Arabia to fight on March 9, 2024.

While that report has yet to be confirmed by both sides, Wilder has claimed that the fight is now closer than ever before, which has created a lot of excitement among the boxing community.

On Wednesday, boxing correspondent Then Raphael reported that the duo have agreed to a two-fight deal, which will be announced ahead of their respective Day of Reckoning fights in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

“That's the biggest fight in the world,” 'The Bronze Bomber' told Sky Sports about his potential matchup against Joshua.

“Now has come the moment where it is the closest right now to what it has ever been in history. The closest it's ever been.'

But while he admitted his excitement at the thought of a fight, he added that he still wasn't entirely sure the fight would go ahead: “I'm excited to say that. I'm not 100 percent sure this will happen. A lot of things have happened, a lot of things have been done.

'You can only be 100 percent when the bell rings and the first blow is given.'

Before then, Wilder is tasked with knocking out Joseph Parker on Saturday night, with the New Zealander having lost just once in his last ten fights.

Joshua, meanwhile, will take on Otto Wallin in similar fashion, with the Swedish southpaw having suffered just one defeat during his career against Tyson Fury in 2019.

It will be an intriguing night of action with Frank Warren claiming that both fighters are 'under some pressure' to perform at the 'Day of Reckoning' event and if they lose it could throw another spanner in the works for their potential 2024 meeting. .

Why did this fight take so long?

For much of their professional careers, Wilder and Joshua have been involved in a war of words with both fighters trading verbal blows over their inability to make a deal to fight each other.

Discussions between the pair over the fight date back to 2017, with Mail Sport reporting that talks between the pair broke down over claims that Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, had reportedly refused to split the purse evenly between the two fighters.

The then WBC world heavyweight champion, Wilder, went on to defeat Luis Ortiz in March 2018, with Joshua recording a unanimous victory against Parker at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

But it wasn't long before a potential meeting between the pair was back on the table, with reports claiming in March that the American had made a £40million offer to Joshua after the Brit publicly stated he would accept the fight . if he was offered that eye-watering amount of money.

Despite this, negotiations appeared to have stalled again, with Wilder branding Hearn and Joshua 'hypocrites'.

He had apparently sent the Matchroom team a no-contract offer, claiming that Joshua's promoters had rejected the offer because they had not received a contract. Wilder became furious as it was reported that Hearn and his team had previously done the same thing.

He wrote on social media: 'We sent a deal, just like they did without a contract. The only difference is that we REJECTED their offer, so no contract agreement is necessary. #Hypocrites at its best. This is simple!!

“It's like buying a house and not going to buy it without first accepting the price, and then the contract follows.”

Wilder's promoter Shelly Finkel also hit back at Hearn in a leaked email claiming the promoter had failed to send them a contract ahead of negotiations. In the correspondence he said: 'You saying we didn't even send you a contract is a smokescreen,' before using several examples of where Hearn had failed to send a contract ahead of their negotiations.

Ultimately, talks broke down again, with Wilder claiming last year that Joshua had 'done everything' to avoid him during their more than six-month negotiations.

Despite this, Eddie Hearn recently told Mail Sport that while there were 'many reasons why the fight talks fell through', he gave his opinion on the feud, claiming Wilder's team had asked them for a deal worth £40 million without contract to be agreed.

“Honestly, that was about three or four years ago. No one came to us with an offer. We received an email,” Hearn said.

“I mean, me and Deontay are friends, so I don't want to make a fuss, but we received an email from a Hotmail address saying we'll give you $50 million for the fight. It was sent to Anthony Joshua. Straight away. He was like “what”.

“So I went back and said, send the contract. They said no, you must agree to the terms before we send the contract. I said you don't agree to the terms before sending the contract.

'I didn't know what the contract looked like at this point. I'm not going to put myself in a position and say, yes, I agree to the terms, and then receive a contract that's just bullshit and you can't sign it. But they never shipped it.

“There are many reasons why that fight didn't happen, but we have to look to the future.

'We have a great chance to win the battle. But it's all irrelevant if they don't win on December 23.”

Wilder also claimed that Joshua's management had 'deterred him from taking the fight' and that the British fighter had rejected his big money offer.

Wilder said in November: “It's his management that's keeping him from fighting me because, you know, he's a fighter. It's been more than six years (waiting for the fight). But there comes a point when you think, “Forget it.”

“A lot of times he wanted to fight, he wanted to accept it, but his handlers didn't want it because Joshua is the moneymaker for the company. And if he goes down, so does the business.”

Fast forward to today and things are looking a little more promising compared to the past, especially considering Wilder's recent comments that the fight could be close.

But as Heorn says, their negotiations could mean nothing if neither fighter wins on Saturday night.

Their war of words

Despite this, both fighters appear focused and confident ahead of their respective fights this weekend. They are both winners and know they can secure fights against some big opponents next year, with Joshua 'potentially in contention for an IBF title shot'.

Although the pair will not meet in Saudi Arabia this time, tension continues to bubble, with Joshua earlier this summer hitting out at the American fighter, saying: 'Forget Wilder and those people. They have kept me busy for years.

“By now you've seen all the shenanigans that go on in the heavyweight division.”

He also claimed his rival was 'not an elite level fighter' in what was a scathing assessment of the Bronze Bomber.

Wilder, meanwhile, has shot back plenty of shade at Joshua this week, claiming the British fighter has 'lost the respect of the heavyweight division'.

He added that Joshua was also a “made fighter,” saying, “I've said it many times and I'll say it again: it's a difference between champions who are born and are made.”

It seems there is no love lost between the two boxers. If their fight goes ahead as planned next year, we are undoubtedly primed for a fiery encounter between two boxers with very impressive resumes.