Deontay Wilder has been handed a six week ultimatum to strike an agreement to fight the reigning WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO champion, Anthony Joshua.
Joshua knocked out Russia’s Alexander Povetkin in a world title fight in round seven at Wembley, London last Saturday.
And ahead of his next bout at Wembley on April 13, Joshua has repeatedly stressed he wants to fight fellow undefeated champion Wilder, who holds the World Boxing Council version of the heavyweight title, next.
According Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, an offer will be made to Wilder’s camp in the coming days.
“Next up, we have to wait and see. As I’ve said, we want to fight Deontay Wilder to see if we can find an undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” Hearn wrote in his column on the Daily Mail on Monday.
“He (Wilder) says he is fighting Tyson Fury on December 1, but we cannot wait until that fight to make our decision on AJ’s career. I would like to know where we are with Wilder’s team in the next five or six weeks because we cannot really go longer than that.
“I would make an offer to Wilder’s team on the assumption of him beating Fury. I obviously get that Wilder’s value goes up if he wins that fight, so the offer will reflect that.
“The wider picture is that our next mandatory is the WBO and then after that it is the IBF. We would likely be granted an exemption with the WBA for April 13 even if it isn’t unification with Wilder, and as we’ve said before, Dillian Whyte is an option. Right now I would say it is even money between it being Whyte or Wilder but we do want Wilder.
“We started contact again about a week ago after not hearing anything for a while. We have made an agreement with them in the past and signed our end, but now we need to make progress on a new agreement for April if it is going to happen. Believe me, it is the fight we want and I do think there is a good chance we will make a deal.”