Joshua vs Wilder planned for late 2017 in Las Vegas

Wilder may be beaten before then if he fights anyone Decent

 

Would think so, but I hear Wilder doesn't have much of a following in the US?

 

this is old news
the reason joshua signed with showtime is because of the wilder fight.
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yeah, well he'll have to beat Povetkin first.

 

Wilder's days are numbered and dwindling. Gatekeeper station up ahead.

 

It's been pretty clear for a while now that this is what they were looking to do, though I am surprised they are scheduling it for so late on.

A unification fight could see their mandatory's delayed and there is always the risk they could lose before unifying. Wilder still needs to deal with Povetkin at some stage and Joshua has to deal with Parker.

But if it does happen it will no doubt be the biggest money fight since Wlad/Povetkin.

 

Pretty much ensures neither guy is going to fight a live body before then. What a Farce this fight will be two 'champions' who haven't fought but one top 10 opponent between them (Stiverne)

 

Still ducking Povetkin LOL... The frauds reign will be coming to an end here :deal

 

Wilder is NOT a draw. He has abysmal ratings, venues are half-empty. The big money fight for AJ is Fury, not Wilder.

 

he'll get out of it.

hes avoided him this far

theyll find a way to keep avoiding him

 

Wilder's ratings in the U.S. are fine. He consistently draws between one and two million homes. He's not a big star by any means. But, frankly, no boxers really are in the U.S. Boxing is a niche sport in the U.S. - thanks to 25 years of PPV and no network coverage.

Floyd Mayweather was a once-in-a-lifetime cash cow. Showtime isn't going to see another money machine like that again.

One million to two million viewers in the U.S. is very good right now. One to two million homes are a million more than some guys would generate.

These network types need to forget about PPV for a while. The fan base needs to be built up again in the States. In the UK right now, boxing is probably more popular than it's been in a generation.

People also focus too much on JUST the U.S. TV ratings. Wilder's fights air in the UK as well on Box Nation and Sky. Nobody mentions the ratings for those fights.

I disagree with Showtime's Espinoza that a fight between Joshua and Wilder should be in Vegas.

Clearly, the fight would be bigger in the UK. Espinoza is only thinking about televising the fight on Showtime PPV in prime time in the U.S.

Frankly, I think that would be disastrous.

Joshua is the bigger star of the two in his country. The fight shouldn't be anywhere near a Vegas casino. They are sterile and lifeless.

It should be in an open-air stadium in England. Pack as many people in there as want to attend. Let them both blast away at each other. It would be epic.

The winner of Joshua-Wilder will be an EVEN BIGGER star. And if it's a good fight, their rematch should draw more viewers than the first. If they want heavyweights to become big stars again, they need rivalries and guys who can compete in a series of matchups with each other.

Wilder-Joshua has the makings of a good rivalry. Stage it where it'll get the most attention. And that isn't in a Vegas casino where 90 percent of the attendees are comped, drunk business execs who have to be told a fight is about to start and only make it to the arena to see the main event.

PPVs in Vegas need to go. Any promoter who brings up PPV and Vegas in the same sentence should have his credentials removed. Boxing needs to be held in venues in major U.S. cities ... rebuild the fan base.

And if the sport is huge in the UK right now, then that's where the big fights should go, especially when a UK fighter is involved.

Golovkin-Brook looks like a mismatch on paper. In the UK, it'll be a monster event.

Same with Joshua-Wilder.

 

Except for this boxing board, nobody gives a damn about Povetkin. NO OTHER ORGANIZATION even rates him.

The WBC is his last hope. If they decide they've had enough of him, he'll be unranked by everyone.

There's no law that says you have to rate someone. The WBC made him their mandatory and he blew it. Just like the IBF made Povetkin their mandatory TWICE, and he bowed out of title fights for them twice.

Povetkin's burned all his bridges. That's what happens when you do. People don't want to work with you anymore. It's a waste of everyone's time if you're just going to screw things up right before everyone gets paid.

 

Wilder's ratings would be fine if he was fighting at Welterweight. But not when you consider he has 4 titlefights so far and he's the only American HW belt holder right now. He should be a household name by now but he's not. He's not overly skilled, his matchmaking is terrible and his highly uncharismatic.

His network ratings are abysmal. Add the fact that the venue in his last fight in his own backyard was 40% empty. That's appalling. I can't remember a single US HW belt holder with such abysmal drawing power.