“Can’t be disappointed about something that never was,” Finkel told Sky Sports. “Eddie never reached out to us, and Joshua obviously had no intention of fighting Deontay Wilder. Same old story, just a new date.”
The comments question recent suggestions from Eddie Hearn that Anthony Joshua could face Wilder ahead of a planned showdown with Tyson Fury later in 2026.
Joshua will instead face Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Riyadh, ending any immediate speculation of a long-rumored clash with Wilder.
Just a few weeks ago, Eddie Hearn was out here calling Wilder a warm-up fight for Joshua’s planned clash with Tyson Fury. This is a heavy duty marketing move. It keeps the fans involved and makes it seem like AJ is willing to take on the most dangerous puncher in the division just to keep busy.
However, Shelly Finkel’s response is interesting. He bluntly said there was “no reason” to be frustrated because no real approach was ever made. If Hearn was serious, an email or a phone call to Finkel would have been the first step. According to Wilder’s camp, this never happened.
Instead of Wilder, Joshua will now officially face the unknown Prenga. This move serves two purposes for Joshua’s camp: It’s a much safer busy fight while Joshua rehabilitates from his car accident earlier this year. It also clears the way for the massive Fury fight at the end of 2026 without the risk of Wilder ruining the payday with a single right hand.
This has been the pattern for years. We saw it in 2019 when the undisputed talks collapsed and again in 2023 when they were both on the “Day of Reckoning” card but never really tied together.
Wilder, who recently returned to the ring with a win over Derek Chisora, also expressed interest in a future fight with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Finkel’s comments suggest that the Joshua fight remains in familiar territory, having been discussed publicly but never formally pursued behind the scenes.
