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Joshua to fight Povetkin not Wilder

Neill Simpson 26 th June 2018

The much anticipated unification clash this summer between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will not take place after the WBA ordered Joshua to fight mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin.

Negotiations between Wilder and Joshua for the blockbuster showdown this September, have been going on for some time now with nothing agreed, forcing WBA President Gilberto Mendoza to press forward with their decision.

They initially ordered the fight to take place between AJ and Povetkin in April, however after a request by promotor Eddie Hearn, the WBA agreed an additional 60-day extension to give them time to land the fight with Wilder.


Much to the frustration of Hearn, Wilder’s team have yet to respond to the contract sent over to them, despite their knowledge of the date set by the WBA for a decision to be made and the constant social outburst from Wilder that there is a $50M offer on the table.

It appears the Matchroom Boxing boss has accepted that the Wilder fight will have to be shelved for now and that Joshua needs to turn his attention to Russian or risk losing one of his belts.

Povetkin is a tough opponent that has suffered just the one loss in his 35-fight career, on points to Wladimir Klitschko back in 2013. Since then he has responded with eight wins, the most recent, a brutal 5th round knock-out of David Price in March of this year.

Joshua has never made a secret of the fact that he will never give up his belts, so will duly honour the WBA’s decision.

The only problem for the Heavyweight Champion is that this will increase the pressure on him, as it is highly likely Hearn will have a contract signed and agreed with Wilder before he steps into the ring for his title defence, not to mention the prospect of fighting a very dangerous opponent.

That said, I still feel at 38-years-of-age, Povetkin will be no match for Joshua. As an opponent David Price is nowhere near the level of his compatriot, while neither is Manuel Charr, Christian Hammer, Mariuz Wach or Mike Perez, just some of the recent opponents he has beaten. He did however send Carlos Takam to the canvass in a 10th round stoppage back in 2014, enough to make the Joshua camp treat him with the respect he deserves.

Neill Simpson 26th June 2018
Anthony Joshua Boxing