Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder Contract Could Be Finalized On Friday

Anthony Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn can expect their contract back from Deontay Wilder's team on Friday, according to the latter's co-manager Shelly Finkel.

A title unification clash between the two unbeaten heavyweight champions has been slated for months in which the winner would come away with the World Boxing Organization, World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation, International Boxing Organization and World Boxing Council titles.

After a lot of negotiations, Wilder finally accepted Joshua's terms earlier this month for a fight to take place in the United Kingdom that would see the American earn a flat fee of $15 million with no percentage of the event, though he would be entitled to a guaranteed rematch with "AJ" in the U.S. with a 50/50 purse split.

But with two weeks gone by since, there were no updates on a contract being finalized, prompting Hearn to claim Wilder does not really want to fight Joshua otherwise the contract would have been signed by now.

"Let's just stick to facts. We made them an offer firstly, they didn't even reply," Hearn told Sky Sports on Monday. "They made us an offer, we asked to see a contract, they refused to send one. We made them another offer, after nearly four weeks they accepted and asked for a contract and we sent them one. If they want the fight they will sign it."

"He has now had the contract a week. We are getting calls from the WBA on a daily basis asking what's happening, there is absolutely zero urgency from Deontay and his team other than posting silly Instagram videos. The proof is in the resumes and at this stage I believe Deontay and his team do not want this fight," he said.

Finkel, however, says Hearn's words are far from the truth, retorting that not only does Wilder want the fight more than Joshua, but that their $50 million offer back in April was legitimate.

"First of all, I want to make it clear that Deontay Wilder wants this fight more than Anthony Joshua does. Which is evidenced by the fact that Wilder accepted a flat purse for this fight, which is unheard of for a fight of this magnitude," Finkel said in a call with World Boxing News. "He also has accepted to fight Anthony Joshua in the UK, while Anthony Joshua did not accept a $50 million offer (which Joshua originally asked for) plus a percentage to fight Wilder in the U.S."

"Eddie thinks I dislike him. He is wrong. I just have a difference of opinion with him of what a fact is. When I state something is a fact, I have written proof to back it up. I dare Eddie to do the same. To clear up one other fallacy, Eddie knows that they have a written term sheet from us which details our $50 million offer for Anthony Joshua to fight Deontay Wilder in the U.S. We have never received from them a response to this term sheet," he added.

Finkel then revealed the chronological timeline of where things stand in terms of a contract which is summarized below:

• Wilder accepts offer to fight Joshua on June 11.
• Wilder's team only receive the contract on June 18.
• Wilder's team send back the contract requesting a clarification of two points on June 19.
• Hearn responds on June 22nd with Finkel later stating the contract will be sent back on June 29.

"Since the contract did not state the date or the venue, I also asked for that information," Finkel added. "These are the facts and Matchroom will have the contracts back to them by Friday June 29th."

World Boxing News adds that once Joshua and Wilder sign their portions of the contract, the date and venue will be revealed.

Joshua preferred to fight on Sept. 15 but it will collide with Gennady Golovkin's now-confirmed title rematch against Canelo Alvarez taking place on the same day, so October and November are also possibilities.

Likely venues could be Wembley Stadium in London, England or the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.