The most eagerly anticipated heavyweight bout of the year is rapidly drawing closer as Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury do battle on Saturday 1st December in a fight that promises to enrapture a global audience.
One man with a vested interested in the outcome of the duel is Anthony Joshua who is widely expected to face the winner at some point in 2019.
However, the IBF, WBA (Super), WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion has surprisingly revealed that not only will he not be ringside for the fight, but he won’t be watching it live on television either.
“Unfortunately the fight's on too early for me, so I'll be sleeping, but I enjoy watching the highlights,” Joshua told The Mail.
It’s difficult to believe the English superstar. Surely he’ll be tempted to flick it on, but if he stays true to his word, then fair play, after all it is on at the unearthly time of 5am here in England, although that won’t stop a whole host of us from either staying awake through the night, or dusting off those alarm clocks.
Joshua, who has won all 22 of his professional fights, recently beat Alexander Povetkin in September, and his next fight is scheduled for 13th April 2019 at Wembley Stadium, but while an opponent has not yet been announced it’s widely expected to be the winner of Wilder v Fury.
Other names in contention include Dillian Whyte, who is gunning for a rematch, Oleksandr Usyk, and Andre Ward, while Wladimir Klitschko could even be set for a shock return to the ring, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
“An April return, Wladimir Klitschko against Joshua, who knows? That would be what? Two years on from their first epic fight. One of the best heavyweight fights of all time. We'll see."
Meanwhile, Wilder is the odds-on 4/7 favourite with Betfred to come out on top this weekend against the 6/4 priced Fury, with a draw available at 20/1.
