For almost seven years now, the highly anticipated Anthony Joshua– Deontay Wilder fight has been in the making. At the end of last year, it seemed like the fight might just happen. However, while a date emerged for it, Wilder failed to clear his side of a deal to get the fight rolling. So close, yet so far. Are there any chances of it happening now? ‘AJ’ still remains hopeful.

On the 9th of February, the ‘Bronze Bomber’ and Joshua were to fight in Saudi. The condition for this fight to happen was that both AJ and Wilder would have to win their respective fights on December’s ‘Day of Reckoning’ card. The Londoner kept his side of the deal by defeating his Swedish opponent, Otto Walin. The Alabama hard hitter, however, did not, losing to Kiwi fighter, Joseph Parker. Did that night mark the knell of AJ vs. Wilder?

Anthony Joshua claims he doesn’t duck a challenge

With just 10 days left for the 8th March fight between 34-year-old AJ, and his Cameroonian-French opponent, Francis Ngannou, the former has been occupied with media interactions. In one of them, with the English publication, Sky Sports, he kept it real about his awaited in-ring confrontation with 38-year-old Wilder.

The 9th February card might have fallen through, but it does not mean that AJ vs. Wilder will never happen. Elaborating on how keen fans remain for the fight, the two-time world champion said, “It’s a fight that fans want to see.” He continued, “I’m not saying it’s completely written off…It’s a fight where everything was signed and sealed. It just needed both of us to deliver. And he didn’t meet his end of the bargain.”

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However, AJ, an optimist, it seems, flipped the disappointment of the Wilder fight falling through. For him, it highlighted his stance as a fighter, who would not run away from a fight. He explained, “You know what it proved to me, I’ve signed to fight Fury, I’ve signed to fight Wilder, I’ve signed to fight a lot of people. I just do good business. I’m a good prizefighter. I don’t duck a challenge.”

While Wilder has no opponent finalized or a date fixed for his next stint in the ring, AJ has planned it out for himself. After losing his unified heavyweight title in 2021 to Oleksandr Usyk, he sees this year as an opportunity to cement those cracks. However, for that, he’ll need to defeat Ngannou, someone who has already taken the boxing world by storm. Will he be able to do that?

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‘Overestimate, not Underestimate’, preaches AJ

Francis Ngannou clashed against the WBC titlist, Tyson Fury last year for his debut fight, losing it on a thin margin. Since then, he’s been reckoned as a growing force in the heavyweight division. Can he be underestimated, given his lack of experience in the boxing format? “You should always overestimate people if you want my opinion,” said AJ.

“He had a good outing as well against Tyson Fury, who is the current WBC champion. So I think it will be good for me to see where I’m at,” he added.

Will Anthony Joshua be able to fight back Ngannou’s record-breaking powerful punches? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.

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