Anthony Joshua believes a fight against Deontay Wilder will happen next year (Getty)
Anthony Joshua is confident a fight against Deontay Wilder will happen in 2023.
After talks broke down over a title fight with Tyson Fury in December, Joshua is now searching for a new opponent to face early next year.
Wilder, meanwhile, made an impressive return to the ring last month as he knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round.
When asked if he believes that a fight against Wilder will happen next year, Joshua told Behind The Gloves: ‘Now he’s on a resurgence, I think he’s realising, he’s said he’s got three years left so he wants to tick off his hitlist.
‘Yeah, it’ll happen now.’
Asked to rate Wilder’s performance against Helenius, Joshua replied: ‘Good, he knocked him out, he’s back.
‘It’s good, he did well, he did what he’s supposed to do.’
Deontay Wilder returned to the ring with an impressive KO against Robert Helenius last month (Getty)
Meanwhile, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, also suggested a fight with Wilder is a possibility but believes the 33-year-old’s next opponent will be the winner of Dillian Whyte vs Jermaine Franklin, which takes place on November 26.
‘Definitely, he [Wilder] was one of the names that I mentioned to him [Joshua] tonight,’ Hearn told Boxing Social.
‘I’m not just saying it, but I couldn’t say a fight to AJ where he doesn’t say no.
‘He said tonight about Andy Ruiz, ‘yeah, I’d love to fight him again’. He had a photo with [Bakhodir] Jalolov, he said, ‘I’d love to fight him’, I was like, ‘why? He’s 4-0’. He just wants to fight everybody.
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‘It’s just a case of having, not an easy fight, but an easier fight before he goes into a Deontay Wilder or a Dillian Whyte, basically.
‘Otto Wallin is a very fair fight for AJ to come back to, a lot of these guys have priced themselves out.
‘Filip Hrgovic is a great fight, he’s IBF mandatory, Zhang Zhilei had a good fight with Hrgovic, I’m just pulling names out.
‘I think the winner of Dillian Whyte against Jermaine Franklin is a very, very good frontrunner for the next fight [for Joshua].’
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Joshua is still searching for his next opponent.
