Nigerian-born Anthony Joshua is set to decide his next opponent within 10 days, with Deontay Wilder “one of his three main choices”, says Barry Hearn.
WBC heavyweight title holder Wilder, 32, posted a video on Twitter offering WBO, IBF and WBA champion Joshua, 28, a $50m (£35.9m) unification fight deal.
Yet Hearn’s son Eddie, who is Joshua’s promoter, was unsuccessful when trying to meet American Wilder’s management.
“Anthony Joshua calls the shots,” said Hearn senior.
“He has a choice. I think his preference is Alexander Povetkin for his mandatory, Jarrell Miller is in the top five, and Deontay Wilder.
“They’re his three main choices and I expect him to make his mind up in the next seven to 10 days. He’s a smart young man and the final decision is always made by him.”
Joshua himself has previously called for Wilder’s camp to prove that they have the money for the fight before he will agree to it.
Though Wilder personally has offered a deal, the American’s management has yet to approach the Briton’s team.
Hearn senior added: “It’s very strange, because we’ve never had an offer from Wilder’s management, but we’ve had an offer from Wilder.
“He said he’d give us $50m, but I don’t think he’s got $50m. There was no contract.”
Hearn junior was in New York last week and had expected to sit down with Wilder’s management, but they “refused to meet”, according to Hearn senior, who is chairman of the company through which his son promotes Joshua.
“They said we had to agree on the deal first – it’s all very peculiar so we give it no substance at all,” Hearn senior added.
“Whether they like it or not, [Joshua] is the commercial value of the fight, pretty much no-one knows Deontay Wilder in America and pretty much no-one knows Anthony Joshua there either, but we bring an awful lot to the table.”
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