WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed that Anthony Joshua may meet Deontay Wilder in a final eliminator to decide a mandatory contender for the heavyweight belt.
Day of Reckoning Kingdom of Arena Riyadh Dec 23 featuring Anthony Joshua Dainty Wilder Joseph Parker Dan Dubois Wallin Richard Pelham
Joshua and Wilder are expected to battle each other after competing in separate bouts against Otto Wallin and Joseph Parker on December 23 in Saudi Arabia.
Sulaiman has officially stated that AJ and Wilder will meet as a final eliminator for the WBC belt if they both win their respective fights in December.
READ ALSO: Anthony Joshua will knock out Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury before retiring – Eddie Hearn insists
They will, however, have to wait a while since Tyson Fury, who now owns the WBC belt, is due to meet Oleksandr Usyk, who presently holds the IBF, WBA, and WBO belts, on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
Sulaiman also hinted that a rematch between Fury and Usyk could take place before either Wilder or Joshua takes on the undisputed championship.
‘We’ve been waiting, pushing, mediating, and urging everyone to try to make this [Joshua versus Wilder] happen,’ Sulaiman explained to Sky Sports.
‘When Wilder was champion, Wilder-Joshua came extremely close on a couple of occasions. The WBC left the window open without intervening with anything that might get in.
‘The problem that could happen is a mandatory contender,’ he continued. ‘We did order Wilder against [Andy] Ruiz, which was a tremendous fight, to find a mandatory contender.
‘That fight didn’t take place. So the WBC board of governors has approved Fury against Usyk in February and then the rematch so there will not be anything in the way, as far as the WBC, for both fights to take place.’
Sulaiman went on to speak about the December 23 card in detail, saying: ‘In itself, it is a natural WBC elimination tournament. You have Wilder, No 1, Joshua, you have Parker, you have Otto Wallin, all those are highly ranked in the WBC. After December 23 we’re going to see a different picture in the rankings.’
He went on to add: ‘It looks like Wilder and Joshua are on a collision course. That could very well be a final elimination to determine a mandatory contender for the WBC title.’
Kanyidaily recalls that Eddie Hearn has dropped shocking revelations on Anthony Joshua’s plan to knock out Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury before calling it quit boxing.