Boxing Notes: Can a Wilder-Joshua Bout Come to Fruition?

News, notes and observations while wondering if the British Boxing Board of Control will weigh in on last Saturday’s bizarre performance by referee Mark Bates on the Deontay Wilder-Derek Chisora fight.

🥊 What’s Next for Wilder?
Deontay Wilder’s split decision win over Derek Chisora on Saturday was a sloppy, foul-filled affair, one that could have ended in the first round when one of Chisora’s trainers inexplicably jumped into the ring to come between the two fighters after they became entangled against the ropes. Ultimately, Wilder’s accuracy with his power punches (47%, per CompuBox) was enough for him to squeeze out the victory.

At 40, Wilder’s career still has a heartbeat. He has called for a fight against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (good idea) and suggested he could fight rising contender Moses Itauma (terrible idea). The most intriguing opponent, though, is Anthony Joshua. Wilder crossed paths with Joshua on his way back to the locker room on Saturday, bumping fists with the ex-heavyweight champion and saying, “Let’s do it.”

And why not? The two heavyweights have been circling each other since 2017, when Joshua knocked out Wladimir Klitschko to win a pair of heavyweight titles. Interest has waned in recent years, with Joshua and Wilder absorbing losses, but they remain two of the biggest names in the heavyweight division. Joshua has an eye towards another faded star, Tyson Fury, but if those talks break down, a Joshua-Wilder fight remains highly marketable.

🥊 Are you ready for Tszyu-Spence?
Tim Tszyu’s win over Denis Nurja in Australia on Saturday was anticlimactic. Tszyu battered Nurja over 10 rounds, dropping him in the fourth and putting him on skates in the second half of the fight. It was good matchmaking for Tszyu, who has won two straight since a knockout loss to Sebastian Fundora last year.

And it sets up a big one. Tszyu and Errol Spence Jr. have reportedly been negotiating a junior middleweight fight for the summer. It’s a fascinating matchup. Tszyu has fallen from the ranks of the top 154-pounders after losses to Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev. Spence, a career-long 147-pounder, has not fought since losing to Terence Crawford in 2023. It’s a win-or-go-home fight for both, with the winner likely earning a lucrative shot at a junior middleweight title later this year. Sign me up.

🥊 What’s up with Regis Prograis?
Prograis’s health has been a bubbling topic in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s clash with Conor Benn. What started as a social media rumor—one immediately shot down by Prograis—has gained traction, with Eddie Hearn, Benn’s former promoter, saying last week that “everybody knows” the situation with Prograis, who Hearn claims “shouldn’t even be in the ring, because he’s that badly injured.”

Hmmm. Now Hearn, who had a nasty split from Benn, has some skin in the game here. And for what it’s worth, people close to Prograis have insisted he is healthy. Still, if Prograis, a sizeable underdog headed into this 150-pound catchweight fight, is less than 100%, it could be an even easier night for Benn, who will collect a cool $15 million for his efforts.

🥊 Pass on Shields-Price.
Does anyone else find it odd to see Claressa Shields in the ring calling out Lauren Price after Price’s 147-pound title defense against Stephanie Piñeiro? Shields, the undisputed heavyweight champion, appears keen on a showdown between two former Olympic gold medalists, saying, “I feel like me and Lauren fighting is one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing.”

Is it? There’s no doubt Shields and Price are on the pound-for-pound lists. But the size difference between the two is massive, even if the fight was contested, as Shields suggested, at 160 pounds. There are better, more marketable fights for Shields. Shadasia Green, who Shields called out after her most recent win, is available. As is Mikaela Mayer, who owns a piece of the 147-pound title herself, along with two belts at 154. A showdown with Price, frankly, makes little sense.

🥊 Callum Smith bows out
Disappointing news on Monday, when Matchroom announced that Smith was forced to withdraw from a scheduled light heavyweight showdown with David Morrell due to injury. Smith-Morrell, which was set to headline in Liverpool on April 18, will be replaced at the top of the bill by Ben Whittaker-Braian Suarez. It will be another headlining opportunity for Whittaker, one of the most entertaining prospects in boxing.