Eddie Hearn has hit out at Deontay Wilder for refusing to fight Anthony Joshua and signing a ‘three-fight deal’ with Showtime.
Wilder announced this week he had signed to fight Luis Ortiz in a rematch, ending any slim hope there was of a unification clash between the WBC champion and Joshua.
AJ has repeatedly called out Wilder ahead of his fight at Madison Square Garden this Saturday, but Hearn insists Joshua’s rival champion had decided his next two opponents long before this week.
‘No, I don’t know. What else can you do?’ Hearn told IFL TV about a potential fight with Wilder in 2020.
‘He’s fighting Adam Kownacki next [after Ortiz]. He’s done a three-fight deal with Showtime.
‘To fight Breazeale, Ortiz and Kownacki – it’s done. This is what’ve told people all the time.
‘People come up to me and say, ‘You know he’s done a deal with Showtime, he can’t fight Joshua, he’s got his fights done and confirmed?’
Wilder v Ortiz II ?????
To all my fans,
I want to announce that Luis Ortiz and I have signed for a rematch, with the date and site to be announced shortly.
All my controversial fights
Must get dealt with ASAP‼️#BombZquad pic.twitter.com/RZs7vLEhaj— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) May 28, 2019
‘He has the power to say no, to do the fight that will make him money and give the fans what they want.
‘Instead of coming out and saying ‘I’m going to right the wrongs of the Ortiz fight’. Mate, you knocked him out in the tenth round. You’ve done that.’
Joshua takes on Andy Ruiz Jr in his first fight on American soil and is now set to fulfill a mandatory to one of his three major world titles in his next bout.
Kubrat Pulev and Oleksandr Usyk are the most likely candidates, according to Hearn, but there is also the possibility of a rematch with Whyte.
