ANTHONY JOSHUA has vowed to return to boxing with a bang – as a talk of a fight with Deontay Wilder grows louder.
AJ has been sidelined since his September knockout loss to Daniel Dubois and
But promoter Eddie Hearn revealed the two-time heavyweight champion is on track to fight before the year ends with a top target.
He initially held talks with the American’s manager Shelly Finkel over a bout with Dave Allen – but now AJ is ready to take on Wilder himself.
Hearn told SunSport at the launch of Matchroom’s rebrand: “I think it’s a great fight.
“I mean there’s jeopardy in it, it’s dangerous. Originally I was speaking to Shelly about Dave Allen.
“I kind of get the feeling that Wilder wants to get a few fights under the belt, get a bit of confidence back.
“I think it’s great to see him returning, it’s really important that Deontay is still in the heavyweight division.
“AJ I will be here tonight. We’ve just started pinging a few opponents backwards and forwards, nothing really to talk about, but you will see AJ in the ring, November or December.”;
Joshua, 35, and Wilder, 39, were once close to agreeing a huge undisputed title decider before rival broadcasters and promoters got in the way.
Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh then tried to revive the bout last year – until disaster struck.
was beaten by Joseph Parker on points and knocked out by Zhilei Zhang – once again KOing the clash.
The former WBC champ took time off before returning in a confidence-building – winning in seven rounds.
Wilder could even box in one more tune-up before jumping back into the big time – while AJ is also ready to return after giving his body a rest.
He said: “I took a year out, first time in about 12 to 13 years as a professional, not even including the amateur stuff.
“But I took a year out, get my body right. I’m at a different stage in my career where I can look at time a bit differently.
“I’m all these years in front of me like the main man here, so I gotta make like really executive decisions about what I do next.
“So the minute I come back, you know I’ll come back with a bang rather than just keep rolling through and just going with the motions of the sport.
“I just thought, let me take some time out so when I do come back I come back fully active and ready to go and take the division by storm again.”;
