"Won't be by January" - Eddie Hearn provides dire update on Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder

Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder has once again been pushed back.

'AJ' and 'The Bronze Bomber' spent the majority of the year in talks with one another. According to Eddie Hearn, who has provided regular updates most of the year, the deal was a multi-million dollar one, largely bankrolled by Saudi Skill Challenge.

For those unaware, the upstart promoter had big goals. Sadly, they've largely struggled, as they've gotten steamrolled by Saudi's General Entertainment Authority. At first, it seemed that the government body would give money to third-party promoters, who would then book fights.

Instead, the GEA has decided to just cut out the middleman. That's why talks of Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder have stopped. It's also why Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, and later Oleksandr Usyk, are going down.

Since the Saudi plans fell through earlier this summer, Eddie Hearn has been steadfast in the idea that the fight will still happen. He first said December and maybe January. However, in a recent interview with FightHype, the promoter gave another dismal update.

He revealed:

“So now we’re looking at it, myself and Shelly [Finkel] continue to talk, but we look at Vegas and we look at some people making offers, some people wasting time against out in the Middle East, but we have to explore those options. So all I can tell you is January is definitely not happening.”

See his comments below (1:00):

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Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder: Eddie Hearn slams Malik Scott

On the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder, maybe there will be a fight between Eddie Hearn and Malik Scott.

Well, likely not. Nonetheless, the coach of 'The Bronze Bomber' has found himself in a little hot water over comments he recently made. With all of the talk around Joshua and Wilder, Scott opined that there's a clear reason the bout is not happening.

That is, Anthony Joshua is afraid of fighting his longtime foe and meeting his power. In the aforementioned interview with FightHype, Eddie Hearn was asked about the accusation. There, he made it clear he wasn't happy.

The promoter slammed Scott, stating:

“But Malik Scott talks so much s***. Like he also said it was my fault, we weren’t even involved in the negotiations... So I don’t care about Deontay Wilder. He’s in his own problems. The guy ain’t fought for a year and his last fight was about 40 seconds. So he’s a guy that he don’t really want to fight, I don’t think. Joshua’s boxed twice in seven months and he may fight in December or January."