09 May 2023 , 15:01
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Saudi Arabian promoter Amer Abdallah has said that officials in the region view Anthony Joshua's hotly-anticipated clash with Deontay Wilder as an "easy fight to make".
The pair were due to meet on multiple occasions when they held all the heavyweight gold between them, but could never agree on a deal before losing every belt to Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury respectively. But even though both men have been defeated multiple times, fans are still clamouring for the bout as a deal appears to be approaching for a December date.
And Abdallah, one of the leading voices behind the scenes in getting the bout made in the Middle East, feels that it will be relatively straight-forward to work with both men and their teams after establishing solid relationships over the years. Joshua has already fought on two major shows in Saudi, while Wilder was reportedly thrilled by his February visit for Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury.
“The fight between AJ and Deontay would be a massive fight for boxing," He told IFL TV. "With respect to all the other fights there – even the undisputed fight which holds tremendous value – I think the intrigue of Deontay vs AJ just from their own presence as well is the fight that everybody wants to see.
"Eddie [Hearn, Joshua's promoter] was in Riyadh and he was meeting with Prince Khalid and since 2019 they've been doing business and there are ongoing talks for a couple of different initiatives. Of course AJ is the head of that bill, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embraced AJ as one of their own. He loves being out there and has a great personal relationship with Prince Khalid.
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“If that fight can happen and come to fruition, where everything aligned in terms of the terms, the date, the venues, all of that kind of stuff, then great we can make that fight happen. Wilder’s team – Shelly I have a great relationship with, Deontay I have a great relationship with. Deontay came to the Kingdom for the Paul-Fury fight, and loved being there. We stay in constant communication."
And those solid foundations, he feels, will be enough to get the infamously difficult deal over the line for a bout later this year. Wilder was previously committed to PBC, whose relationship with Hearn is known for its bitterness, but has declared himself an "open agent" of late.
"So that’s an easy fight to make, it’s not a difficult fight to make," Abdallah continued. "I hope that in the next couple of weeks we can get some headway, I'll be heading back to Riyadh Inshallah in a couple of weeks and we'll sit down and put the plan in place for Q3, Q4 and then start with out potential Q1 and Q2 initiatives too."