Probably not. Wilder was still trying to raise his profile so that he could get near a 50/50 split, meanwhile Joshua was on top of the world and had absolutely no reason to concede anything to Wilder. Had the Saudis been involved the same issue would still be present with even more money at stake.
I highly doubt it. It's never been about 'not enough money', it's been about Hearn and AJ ducking the fight because they didn't want AJ to end up like he did against Dubious, thus ruining the brand and the future earnings. Wilder might have ducked at some point too but definitely in the later period Wilder has been the one asking for the fight. It doesn't matter if AJ is more skilled, Wilder was very dangerous and so the risk-reward wasn't acceptable. Remember this fight was supposed to happen in Arabia but somehow AJ ended up fighting Wallin and Wilder fought Parker. Do people really think Wilder wanted that dangerous fight instead of the big money fight against AJ? Even he isn't stupid enough to want that option at that stage. Also it's useful to note that some people think Wilder ruined Fury's punch resistance and that Fury ruined Wilder. So that's exactly what Hearn didn't want for AJ, especially back then. Because even if AJ won, he might not be the same after two fights which they would almost certainly have.
If Fury didn't return. If Fury did return Wilder and AJ were going to prioritize fighting Fury. Wilder v Ortiz/Joshua v Parker was a few months before Furys return. With Fury gone Wilder v Joshua would have been the match to make for a new lineage. With Fury in the picture neither man had a reason to make that fight at that time until Fury was out of the way. Where the Saudis start to change things is after Fury v Wilder I the rematch gets made right away and they go straight to Fury v AJ.
It was never about the money. It was about Wilder ducking AJ from 2017 to 2019. After that, post Wilder-Fury trilogy and AJ losing his belts, it was AJ who wasn't interested in the fight. Up until the contracts were signed for the March 2024 match, but Wilder wet the bed against Parker.
Outside of directly saying "I am scared of deontay wilder" Joshua could not be more obviously the problem. Dude was and is scared. Watching Wilder go down has done nothing for him to find his balls at all. I really don't care to argue with anyone about it at this point. If you think maybe Joshua isn't scared I just simply think less of you. No need to argue, there's my cards bro.
Surely yes. Even Mayweather vs Pacquiao would’ve happened A LOT sooner if they were involved. It all comes down to money and %. The Saudis would’ve made that offer upfront without the need to wait.
I made a thread about this a little while back and got some heat from many people on here (probably big AJ supporters). It really makes no sense. Reality is Joshuas team and Hearn thought that Joshua needed another tune up fight before Wilder. Why would Wilder possibly want to fight Parker instead of Joshua?
