Anthony Joshua plans busy calendar with UK and Saudi Arabia at center stage

Anthony Joshua looks set to have a busy remainder of 2023 as he looks set to appear in a pair of potential fights in the heavyweight division — in the UK and Saudi Arabia. According to Sky Sports, Dillian Whyte has signed a contract to fight Joshua on Aug. 12 in London’s O2 arena.

This makes it the third time they have faced each other — once as amateurs, which Whyte won, and in 2015 for the vacant British Heavyweight title that saw Joshua emerge the victor. With both fighters coming off victories, being from the UK and looking to get back into title contention, the fight is an appropriate and competitive matchup. Whyte is no doubt aware of Joshua’s potential future plans and is seeking to insert himself into discussions with a victory.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is in talks with representatives from Saudi Arabian promoters Skill Challenge Entertainment, who are in London, for a potential fight with former champion Deontay Wilder in December or January. The ongoing talks, taking place from Friday to Monday, were successful according to Hearn. Speaking to Boxing News on Saturday, he said: “We’re in a great place with them.

We virtually have a deal agreed in principle, subject to a few final discussions.” A fight with Wilder would mark the third time Joshua has fought in the Kingdom, having previously recaptured his unified belts in a rematch with Andy Ruiz in the Diriyah Arena in 2019, before losing to Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah in 2022. The heavyweight division has had a rather stagnant 2023 so far, all of which looks set to change over the latter half of the year. There is the Usyk versus Daniel Dubois fight scheduled for August, Zhilei Zhang taking on Joe Joyce in September, and an imminent “game-changing”