Hearn worried Deontay Wilder will lose before he makes Joshua fight
Eddie Hearn would like to build up the heavyweight clash between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua a little bit more by having them both fight on the same card this summer in New York before matching them against each other later this year. However, Hearn is worried about Wilder’s ability to get through another fight without taking a loss to one of his challengers.
Hearn watched nervously as Wilder almost was knocked out by Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz in their fight on March 3rd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Hearn believes that the 20 seconds the New York Commission gave Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) after the 7th round saved him from being knocked out in the 8th, because he was badly shaken up by Ortiz in the 7th. Hearn says he’s 80 percent certain he’ll pull the trigger in making the Joshua-Wilder fight next rather than letting the fight marinate for one more fight after Joshua’s next fight against WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs) on March 31.
“The 7th round, he was gone,” Hearn said to Fighthub about Wilder’s fight with Ortiz. “The 20 seconds the New York Commission gave him, rightfully so, it’s within their rules, was potentially a career saver for Deontay Wilder. You can’t criticize Deontay for that, or even the Commission. That’s their new ruling. That’s there for a reason for previous incidents that have happened. I didn’t like it because it gives a fighter a chance to recover and can simultaneously change the momentum of a fight. But a fighter’s health is paramount and Deontay Wilder looked like he potentially could be stopped at that moment at the end of the 7th round. So that definitely helped him,” Hearn said.
“We can’t know for sure whether Wilder would have been knocked out by the 38-year-old Ortiz (28-1, 24 KOs) in the 8th round if he wasn’t given 20 seconds to be examined by the New York Commission before the round started. 20 seconds is not enough time for anyone to recover if they’re badly hurt. Wilder looked like he was still dazed when the 8th round, so I don’t think 20 seconds changed anything. Wilder was able to lean backwards against the ropes to avoid Ortiz’s shots to the head. It was Ortiz’s mistake to not throw more body shots in that round, because Wilder was vulnerable to any body shots that Ortiz was throwing.
“I think Wilder against AJ. I think the game plan is going out the window,” Hearn said. “It’s going to be a barn burner. Our job is to provide for the fans. Our job is to give the people what they want. Anthony wants to give the fans what they want. He wants to fight Wilder now, straightaway, and there’s a very strong chance it’ll be next after Parker. 80 percent,” Hearn said when asked what chance there is of Joshua fighting Wilder next.
