Boxer Anthony Joshua was offered a "minimum" of $50M to fight Deontay Wilder for the undisputed world heavyweight title this year, according to Ron Lewis of the LONDON TIMES. The offer was sent to Joshua from a personal email account belonging to Wilder, the WBC heavyweight champion, and comes two weeks after Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, offered Wilder $12.5M to face the British fighter at Wembley Stadium. Joshua "wasted little time" in responding to his rival, saying, "Let's roll." However, Hearn on Wednesday described the offer from Wilder as a "PR move" and said that it "lacked any substance." The email stated that Joshua, the WBA, WBO and IBF champion, would be paid $50M to face Wilder, or 50% of the total revenue if the fight generated more than $100M. The fight would take place "between September and December at a site of the American's choosing." It also "gave Joshua just 24 hours to agree" (LONDON TIMES, 4/26). The BBC reported Joshua wants to "see the money" before agreeing to Wilder's offer, according to Hearn, who said that he must be convinced the money "exists" before agreeing to the bout "in either London or Vegas." Wilder's manager, Shelly Finkel, confirmed that an offer had been made. Finkel also said that the offer "contains no rematch clause and that it would be the next fight for each boxer" (BBC, 4/26).
