Deontay Wilder believes a long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua can finally take place next year.
Wilder and Joshua have been on a collision course since 2018 when both men held world heavyweight titles, but the fight is still yet to materialise.
The pair were on course to meet last March, but the clash was scuppered after ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was beaten by Joseph Parker, with ‘AJ’ going on to stop Francis Ngannou instead.
Wilder, who returns to the ring on June 27 against Tyrrell Herndon, says a bout with the Brit could be staged next year.
“Not this year for sure,” the 39-year-old told 78SPORTSTV.
“But maybe some time next year.
“Maybe a year after that or something.
“I got to get myself back together first and foremost and I’ve got to prove to myself that I’m back together like I feel.”
The former WBC heavyweight world champion will look to bounce back after back-to-back losses to the aforementioned Parker and Zhilei Zhang, who halted him in five rounds last June.
The Alabama man, who has won just one of his last five fights, is preparing to have three bouts this year and has confirmed his next outing will take place outside of the USA.
Herndon has won three on the bounce since a second round stoppage defeat to American prospect, Richard Torrez Jr.
“I think it’s a great selection,” he added.
“We’ve got a lot of fights lined up for this year.
“We’re looking to have maybe three this year.
“The next one’s going to be a big one outside of the country and we’re looking to do one more at the end of the year.
“We wanted to get some of these warm ups in before we get back into the big meaningful fights, because we could have easily got back into that, but it’ll defeat the purpose of what we’re looking forward to in the future.”
