Deontay Wilder still hoping to revive £100m Anthony Joshua mega-fight by redeeming himself on rival’s March 8 undercard
DEONTAY WILDER is ready to redeem himself and revive his £100million Anthony Joshua fight – by impressing on the undercard of his rival.
The pair of ex-heavyweight champions had signed contracts to meet in a Saudi Arabia blockbuster in March.
But Wilder fluffed his lines against Joseph Parker in the dress rehearsal despite AJ later doing his part by battering Otto Wallin in five rounds.
So now, Joshua, 34, will face red hot ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, 37, on March 8 in Riyadh, leaving Wilder out in the cold.
But the American is desperate to fit on the undercard so he can get his career back on track.
Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel told SunSport: “We would love that. If there was an opportunity, we’d be glad to consider it.
“We’d love to go back there and love to be on that card if it’s possible. If that opportunity presents itself, he’ll be ready.”
A win for Wilder and all could be forgiven, meaning the super-fight with Joshua could be explored again.
Finkel said: “You can’t tell in advance, but I’d assume that Joshua would beat Ngannou, then hopefully we see the Deontay of old and he wins.
“Then of course, if those two were to happen it would still be natural for Deontay and Joshua to meet.”
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Joshua himself was written off after consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, 36, but he dusted himself down to get three wins on the spin.
So Finkel hopes Wilder, 38, could be given the same chance to win cynical fans over.
He said: “Go back two fights, people were saying Daniel Dubois was a quitter. He sure didn’t quit against Jarrell Miller and redeemed himself.
“Three fights ago, people said things about Joshua, he looked very good in his fight with Wallin and that redeemed himself in the same way.
“So in a similar situation, Deontay has a good opponent in the next fight and he looks the way we know him to look, hopefully we have him right back there with Joshua.”
Wilder hopes to avenge his loss to Parker, 31, but Chinese star Zhilei Zhang, 40, is another frontrunner who could take one the ex-WBC champ.
Finkel said: “Look, we would love Parker but that hasn’t been discussed. But in either case, if Zhang was presented, that would be a big fight.
“If that was on the same card as the fight with Joshua and Ngannou, I think Deontay and Zhang would rival that.
“It would be a phenomenal show for the public again. I think the job that they did putting on all the heavyweights together on that card was wonderful.”