- Saudi officials have chosen between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder at last
- Both were gunning for the honour, and the one not picked will be disappointed
- READ: Mail Sport’s EXCLUSIVE interview with Anthony Joshua
We finally know which of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will headline boxing’s Day of Reckoning on Saturday.
Saudi Arabian officials have picked between the two heavyweights at long last – just four days before the gloves start bashing.
Joshua will take on Otto Wallin in a mouthwatering £75million clash while Wilder will come face to face with Joseph Parker.
Both had been hoping for the honour of topping the bill on a historic night in Riyadh.
Wilder recently declared that his fight should be the main event because fans ‘have been wanting a knockout king’ and asked ‘what other man to do it?’
Saudi organisers have finally selected a main event out of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder
Joshua’s fight with Otto Walli has been chosen at the top of the bill for the ‘Day of Reckoning’
However, the Saudi organisers have picked Joshua’s fight with Wallin to be the main event on the card in a bombshell decision.
AJ is looking for a third win of 2023 and wants to reclaim his place on the throne of the heavyweight division.
He has returned to winning ways by beating Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius after losing his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts to Ukrainian superstar Oleksandr Usyk.
Speaking exclusively with Mail Sport, he spoke of his mission to get back to the top, saying: ‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Heavy is the head that wants the crown and I want it. This is my calling. This is something I have dedicated my life to since I was 18 years old.
‘I need the pressure. This position I am in is not a joke. It is serious. I understand what I am here and what I am doing. I understand the pressure that comes with it.
‘I want to keep on chasing my goals and the goals of people within the sport. It’s just my way of showing that I am honouring them. So, keep on putting pressure on me and I will keep on making sure I get better.’
In an exclusive chat with Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly, Joshua said: ‘Keep on putting pressure on me and I will keep on making sure I get better’
Wilder had claimed that ‘I think I should be main event because of what I carry’
Understandably, Wilder will be disappointed that his bout with former WBO champion Parker is considered the second-rate fight – especially after talking himself up.
He had told 78SPORTSTV:’I feel I should be main event, I think I should be main event because of what I carry.
‘People wanna see knockouts, and we know for sure, if you wanna see that, who’s the man to do it?
‘Women lie, men lie, but numbers do not lie.
‘With all that being said, they’ve been wanting a knockout king, they want to give their people that.
‘They want a body on that canvas shaking and doing all kinds of freaky s***, so what other man to do it?
‘They’ve had Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk there and they’ve done their best, but now it’s my turn.’
This time it is not his turn, but with hopes of lining up a fight with Joshua for 2024, one imagines it won’t be long before Wilder’s name is back on the top of a bill.
