WBA, IBF, & WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was not ringside earlier this month, when WBC champion Deontay Wilder and lineal holder Tyson Fury collided at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
But he will be ringside on December 22, when Dillian Whyte faces Dereck Chisora at The O2 in London.
The winner of that contest is expected to fight Joshua, who returns to the ring at Wembley Stadium on April 13.
Joshua will not be alone. Unified cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller will both be ringside as well. Both Usyk and Miller work with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn.
Hearn would like to match Joshua against eight Wilder or Fury – but that is very unlikely, as Wilder and Fury are nearly a lock to face each other in a highly anticipated rematch in 2019.
With Wilder and Fury out of the picture, Hearn admits the Whyte-Chisora winner is the top choice for Joshua’s next fight.
“If we get Wilder, who is our No 1 choice, fantastic. If we get Fury, who is our No 2 choice, brilliant. If we don’t get Wilder or Fury, the winner of December 22 is a must, you have to say the winner of Whyte-Chisora is the No 4 heavyweight in the world,” Hearn told Daily Mail
Whyte holds a win over Joshua when the two boxers were amateurs. But Joshua got revenge when faced off three years ago. Whyte rattled Joshua early on, but eventually was stopped in the seventh round.
Chisora and Whyte collided two years ago in a bout that many felt was the Fight of The Year. After a war that saw both boxers nearly stopped at various points, Whyte walked away with a controversial split decision. Many observers at ringside felt Chisora had done enough to walk away with the victory – but their scoring dispute is now going to be settled in the second fight.
–boxingscene
