With Tyson Fury now seemingly removed from the heavyweight boxing picture for personal reasons, Anthony Joshua versus Wladimir Klitschko has been the talk of the pugilistic world for the past fortnight.
Last Thursday afternoon, the Daily Mail reported in an exclusive story that 'Joshua is set to face Klitschko in the winter', as Sky Sports began to point the odd reporter in the direction of England's famous gyms, to tentatively beat the drum for what would be an undoubtedly compelling showdown were it to take place.
As is so often the case with the sport of boxing, however, much of this hype was cart-before-horse, and five days later, all parties now face a race against time as they wade through the thick swamp of boxing bullshit to get Joshua Klitschko over the line, despite the conspicuous will on all sides for the fight to come to pass. Some, including prospective Joshua opponent David Haye, believe the fight has already been confirmed.
Great to hear Joshua-Klitschko is done. Timing is everything & the time now is perfect for AJ.🇬🇧 Reminds me of Ali 👴🏾Vs Berbick #FatherTime
— David Haye (@davidhaye) October 11, 2016
There are, however, a number of problems which would need solving before we're presented with the most mouth-watering heavyweight clash of the decade.
The Obstacles
Compare Matchroom head honcho Eddie Hearn's candid chat with Kugan Kassius of British boxing's behind-the-scenes omnipresents IFL TV last week (16:00 in the above video) to his brief update on Sky Sports last night.
FINAL STAGES: @EddieHearn provides the latest update on @anthonyfjoshua v @Klitschko. MORE: https://t.co/RBJRgFIxTo https://t.co/ePOTl4ENV0
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) October 10, 2016
.
On the prospect of Joshua Klitschko, Hearn told IFL last week:
It's definitely the fight we want next, so I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen. Things have got to fall into place. People have got to come up with certain things.
I can't tell you how difficult it is to actually get these things over the line, and get them over the line quickly. Because that's the problem we're faced with here - we haven't got two or three weeks to iron this out. You know, do we look to go in December? If we fight Klitschko that's a real possibility, because it [would be] seven weeks to the fight on Saturday. We want enough time to give this the right promotion, and also the right preparation for Anthony Joshua. If he fights Klitschko, he's putting everything on the line at a stage we really didn't anticipate him having a fight like this.
I still think there's a good chance, but at this stage anything could happen. If people don't move on certain things, if... [There are] loads of different things to overcome.
The aforementioned seven-week mark is the most important line from the entire dialogue. That mark has since passed, and still we have no fight, even if Hearn sounded somewhat more confident on Sky Sports News last night.
The issue from Hearn's standpoint is simple; Joshua Klitschko is an enormous promotional undertaking, and a potentially incredibly lucrative pay-per-view for both Matchroom and Sky. A seven-week build-up would suffice for a clash with two such recognisable names (the incredibly successful Golovkin-Brook show required a two-month promo campaign). Six weeks, however, would be the very minimum period required, even for a fight that would doubtless sell if it was announced the Friday beforehand. Pay-per-view figures aren't the issue - behind-the-scenes logistics and simple event-planning are.
As, too, is America. The influence of the two major US networks is a double-edged sword for boxing on a global scale, no more so than within the context of this mouth-watering prospective showdown. Former long-reigning World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko signed a three-fight deal with HBO back in November 2014, extending it by five fights the following July. IBF champion Joshua, who is promoted by Eddie Hearn's Matchroom, signed an undisclosed multi-fight deal with HBO's arch rivals Showtime in May of this year.
This means that despite the feverish whispers of talks for Joshua Klitschko nearing their conclusion, both Hearn and Klitschko's promoter Bernd Bonte are likely still undergoing the near-unconquerable task of bringing the two network giants together, or alternatively attempting to reach a different compromise, to show a fight which would take place on British shores. HBO and Showtime have in the past collaborated on just two superfights: A heavyweight era-defining clash between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, and last summer's generation-defining megafight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. If you've just recently been drawn to the sport by the charismatic Joshua, as well you might, allow me to put it this way: Neither of the aforementioned fights were put together overnight.
Bookmaker @betway go odds-on at 4/6 (-150) that #JoshuaKlitschko takes place NEXT year. It's 6/4 (+150) to take place in 2016.
— Tom Craze (@TomCraze) October 11, 2016
The final major stumbling block is more complex. We're still unsure as to what will happen regarding Tyson Fury and his world titles. The WBO have today informed Fury that should he not reply to their official correspondence within 10 days, they'll strip him of their belt. Something similar, one would suggest, will happen with the WBA.
Furthermore, following his defeat to Tyson Fury last winter, Wladimir Klitschko is ranked #2 by both organisations. This means that for either or both belts to be at stake in any Joshua Klitschko fight, the number one contenders in both body's respective rankings - Joseph Parker and Luis Ortiz - would need to overlooked. This plot thickens in light of Ortiz's signing with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom earlier this week. In truth, neither the WBO nor WBA title needs to be on the line - Joshua defending his own IBF belt against an opponent as formidable as the once long-reigning Ukrainian is still a major deal. However, there can be no doubt that a monumental scrap to become a unified world champion outweighs a mere tasty title defence.
Perhaps David Haye is right, however, and the fight has been confirmed behind the scenes after all. Boxing fans will certainly hope that is the case. But if nothing is confirmed in the coming hours, we won't hold our breath on a Joshua Klitschko finish to 2016.
