By: Sean Crose
Give Turki Alalshikh this – the man is passionate about boxing and is proactive in making interesting fights happen. The Saudi sports honcho’s latest project – to make a Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wider fight. While it’s true both towering heavyweights are seen as being past their best times in the ring, the fact they never met in battle during the post-Klitschko era has left an air of unfinished business about them. Now that Tyson Fury has retired, Alabama’s Wilder would seem like a natural opponent for London’s Joshua. With that beipng said, Wilder has taken a lot of damage throughout his career. Then again, Joshua has, too.
“I want to see Joshua and Wilder now,” says Alalshikh, via talkSPORT. “If Tyson is not available, why not Joshua and Wilder?” Sure enough, Fury was the natural choice for Joshua to fight next. Fans had been waiting for the two men to finally square off in the ring. While a match in 2025 wouldn’t be as big as if it had happened in 2022, the idea of the two supersized Englishman finally throwing down would have been a mouth watering proposition for most fans. With Fury retired, however, a mega fight featuring Joshua is a rather slim possibility these days. Unless, of course, he battles the well known Wilder.
For not so long ago, Joshua-Wilder was perhaps the most hoped for fight in boxing. The sport moves quickly, though, and before anyone knew it, both Joshua and Wilder were former titlists rather than reigning titlists. Odd as it might have been to imagine a while ago, Oleksandr Usyk is now the unquestionable king of the big man’s division. Yet the power that Joshua and Wilder have possessed likely hasn’t vanished (power is the last thing to go, after all). That means each man can still turn out the lights and thrill audiences.
Once again, however, there’s the question of fighter safety. Boxers can last well into their forties but will be less able to if they’ve taken the kinds of beatings Joshua and Wilder have. Neither man has been known as a slick boxer who can cruise along to career longevity. On the contrary, these guys are warriors. Which makes a fight between the two so alluring – and perhaps so dangerous. It’s a shame this fight didn’t go down years ago. Still, there’s a chance this will be a case of better late than never.