Turki Al-Sheikh wants to see a fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder next. This is a fight that will attract a lot of interest from fans worldwide, even though both former heavyweight champions are well past their prime.
Joshua-Wilder is a fight the boxing world has wanted to see for the past decade, but the two have never been able to come to an agreement. Deontay’s right hand is like an old land mineBuried in the earth for 60 years, but still dangerous. If Joshua triggers that right hand from Deontay, he will sleep.
Wilder’s career has fallen lower than Joshua’s, but they are both at about the same level skill-wise. Joshua (35) was crushed by IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in five rounds on September 21 in London.
Turki’s plan
If Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) gets through that fight against former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs), Turki wants him to fight contender Martin Bakole in Africa. Bakole will fight Efe Ajagba in his next fight.
“I want to see Joshua and Wilder now. If Tyson is not available, why not Joshua and Wilder?” said Turki Al-Sheikh talkSport Boxing about wanting to make a fight between recently beaten Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
“We finished the fight between Bakole and the Nigerian fighter, Ajagba. After that we want to see Joshua against Bakole. Me, I want to see this fight. Do you know where I want to see it? I want to see it in Africa.”
Wilder has a confidence booster against journeyman Curtis Harper on April 26 at BLK Prime in Atlanta. Given how poor Deontay has looked over the past five years, you can’t rule out a victory for the 36-year-old Harper.
Turki didn’t say if he’d still be interested in using Deontay as an opponent for AJ if he was beaten by Harper, but you’d have to assume that wouldn’t make him eligible. Wilder’s record would be 1-5 in his last six fights.
It’s bad enough that Deontay has lost four of his last five fights, but a loss to veteran Harper would be a clear sign that he’s not worth using as an opponent for Joshua.
