Anthony Joshua said he could fight Deontay Wilder as part of a blockbuster boxing event that will also include Tyson Fury’s undisputed heavyweight showdown against Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua, who raised the prospect of the mouth-watering mega-match taking place as early as March, also revealed his next fight will be in London at the O2 or Wembley Arena, in December.
Fury is back in action next Saturday against former UFC world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and a deal with Usyk – with the winner being crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-cushion era – has already been agreed in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua, 34, said in Austin ahead of Sunday’s US Grand Prix: “They want to put Usyk v Fury and Joshua v Wilder on the same night. When Fury gets through Ngannou it will be late October, November, so I doubt he will prepare for Usyk and then fight in December. It is too short.
“So the next window will be in March or April and that is when the uncontested fight will take place. What we are told is that they want to make it a mega card.”
After two defeats to Usyk, Joshua got back on track for a future meeting with former WBC belt holder Wilder by knocking out Finnish fighter Robert Helenius in the seventh round at London’s O.2 Arena in August.
When asked in December about the identity of his opponent, Joshua said: “It won’t be a championship fighter – that’s Usyk and Fury. It won’t be any of them and I’m not so sure about the Wilder situation.”
When asked why no date has yet been set for the showdown with Wilder, Joshua said of the American: “It feels like a land grab at the moment.
“Some fighters want to maximize their earnings. When I first started, you start, you build your record, you fight, and then you fight the big fights. But it’s like, ‘Where can we get the most money for the fight?’ And they want to go to Saudi Arabia, so they wait for the uncontested battle.
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“I have to stay busy for my career. And as for an opponent for December, we have to find the right opponent.”
Joshua, who has been announced alongside golfer Rory McIlroy, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and 2010 World Cup winner Juan Mata as part of a £173m strategic investment led by Alpine consortium Otro Capital, said: “I follow my process . They didn’t want me to fight this year. I fought twice and I could have had a stagnant year.
“I have to follow my process and I don’t listen to the noise about Wilder or anyone else. If the opportunity arises, I will be ready. I don’t wait for big opportunities.”
Joshua is in Austin to support Alpine after completing a health retreat this week that involved four days of immersion in darkness.