Dillian Whyte given a simple contract for Anthony Joshua fight with no rematch clause
Hearn confirms he is aiming to get Joshua two fights this year, starting with Whyte in August then Wilder in December
In an interview today, June 29, with Boxing Social, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed they are desperately trying to get Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte over the line this weekend.
He said, “But we want to sign the opponent for AJ on August 12, really on Saturday. It’s six weeks on Saturday, we’ve still got time, this is it. We’ve got two fighters ready to go, Dillian Whyte is our preferential choice, absolutely, and we hope he signs.”
The proposed rematch picks up from their December 2015 clash, where AJ won by knockout in round seven to claim the vacant British heavyweight title at the O2 Arena.
Whyte told TalkSport earlier this week that the contract had a lot of ‘hoops and hooks’ as well as a rematch clause, which is why the deal was still being scrutinised by his lawyers and remains unsigned.
Hearn responded, “Firstly, a lot of people talk about rematch clauses, when there’s such a huge A-Side in the fight, you have to do your job as a promoter; every huge name that I’ve worked with in boxing has a rematch clause; secondly, it’s me that requested that, let me tell you the main reason why: Anthony Joshua is about to fight Deontay Wilder for, I don’t know, $50-$60 million, he’s choosing to take a dangerous fight a few months before where, if he loses, he’s really quite out in the wilderness, and also loses the Wilder fight in December, so if we giving that opportunity to someone else then of course we are going to look for a rematch clause.
“Not against my will, but probably against my advice, Anthony Joshua came out last night and said, ‘I don’t give a f**k about the rematch clause, I’m gonna knock him out, so just tell him to sign the contract’.
“Dillian Whyte replied to say, ‘I’m not gonna do any promotion around the event, I don’t want a rematch clause’, so we’ve just gone back now and given him a Dalton Smith style promotional requirements – no rematch clause, August 12, done.”
However, Hearn is not convinced ‘The Brixton Bodysnatcher’ actually wants the fight, despite showing willingness, “The worry I have is that I send that email and 10 minutes later Sky Sports News are running the story, and it’s like ‘do you want this fight, or is this some kind of other mission to land another fight?’ I don’t know.
“The great news now is that they have the contract, no rematch clause, August 12, absolutely nothing in the contract of any regard that’s gonna cause anyone any problems… let’s see.”
Hearn is doubtful still, stating, “I don’t think they’re gonna sign it, [but] I hope they do. And AJ wants this fight bad, it’s the fight that he wants. But we want to announce on Saturday. It’s Thursday now, got 48 hours, I’m not gonna put a deadline because it starts rattling people, but the deadline is on us to announce the fight, and other opponents who we have got ready to go. I know Dillian loves a big fight, it’s there for him, I hope he signs.
“But we want to sign the opponent for AJ on August 12, really on Saturday. It’s six weeks on Saturday, we’ve still got time, this is it. We’ve got two fighters ready to go, Dillian Whyte is our preferential choice, absolutely, and we hope he signs.
Joshua vs Wilder
Hearn moved on to discuss the proposed December showdown being discussed in Saudi Arabia between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
He confirmed, “It’s well documented we have meetings tonight, tomorrow, with Saudi representatives to close AJ vs Deontay Wilder; Wilder’s team are also in London, [it] shows you the keenness to get that done, and fingers crossed…
“We hope we can agree terms while they’re here. You know, finalise the money and move forward with that fight, Wilder’s team are here as well, that’s very encouraging, we all wanna make the fight, we do want to fight August 12, I think that’s important for him [AJ], they’d probably prefer we didn’t fight, but yeah hoping to get both over the line asap.”
Despite wanting to announce AJ’s next fight on Saturday and also close the deal for the Wilder fight in the same timeframe, it won’t be completely wrapped up, Hearn admits, “You may find we have agreed terms for the Wilder fight; contractually I’m not sure it’ll be signed by then.
“It sounds like Fury-Usyk is not gonna be a part of this, out of my control really, it’s a shame, I feel like there’s so much money in that fight I don’t why its not happening, but again we’re focused on AJ vs Wilder in December we’re ready; January not a problem, doesn’t really matter, but ready to go regardless.”
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