‘The Bronze Bomber’ must first get through Zhilei Zhang on the 1st of June if a fight with Anthony Joshua were to happen.

Deontay Wilder is confident that a fight with Anthony Joshua will happen. The former WBC world champion lost to Joseph Parker on points to hamper a clash with the Brit – which was originally signed for March this year.

However, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ is expected to make his comeback against Zhilei Zhang on the 1st of June. A one-of-a-kind boxing event was announced this week as a squad of fighters representing Queensberry Promotions take on boxers from Matchroom in a unique five vs. five event in Saudi Arabia.

Much to the surprise of many boxing fans, Wilder – who was a long-time rival of Eddie Hearn’s prized fighter Joshua – will represent Matchroom.

A win over Zhang in Saudi Arabia could evoke a possible showdown with ‘AJ,’ with the American believing it still could happen in the future.

Wilder Confident a Fight with Anthony Joshua will Happen

The heavyweight star is ’90 per cent’ sure it’ll happen

Wilder, 38, believes that his loss to Parker was down to his 14 months of inactivity leading up to the showdown. However, he claims a huge win on the 1st of June will resurrect interest in a bout with Joshua. Speaking to BBC Sport, the American said:

“People are always going to want to see that fight no matter what. I put it in the high 90s [percentage chance of the fight happening].

“I always said it before, it’ll be a shame if we never fought. It only takes that one fight, that one night. June 1st is going to be that night, that one fight.

“Deontay Wilder knocks [Zhang’s] head off and the world goes crazy. And there we go again, Wilder versus Joshua. They want it [again].”

A showdown between Wilder and Joshua has been mooted for several years. The American held the WBC title between 2015 and 2020, and Joshua was the unified champion twice between 2016 and 2021. However, talks between the two teams broke down on multiple occasions.

The American Must First Get Through Zhang

The Chinese star is also coming off a loss

‘The Bronze Bomber’ must get through Zhang first if a possible showdown with Joshua were to happen. The Chinese heavyweight comes into the clash with Wilder off the back of a defeat by Joseph Parker.

Heading into his last fight with Parker, Wilder admitted he lost his ‘desire and hunger,’ saying his ‘body wasn’t responding like my mind’:

“That monster wasn’t there no more. It was one of those boring fights where if anyone did any type of action they won. That’s how I look at that fight. Joseph Parker is definitely not better than Deontay Wilder, at all. He was just the better man on the night.”