Deontay Wilder is under pressure to send back the relevant paperwork for a massive heavyweight clash with Anthony Joshua later this year.
Despite receiving the contract three days later than planned from Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn, Shelly Finkel and Team Deontay Wilder have been told to get a move on with signing on the dotted line.
WBN was informed on Tuesday that a contract had been received late on Monday, a whole THREE DAYS LATER than originally stated by Hearn in several interviews.
Wilder's team had expected to be mulling over the deal on Friday, although have now been given just a short time to agree to the stipulations before Joshua moves on to an arranged fight with mandatory Alexander Povetkin.
Finkel has promised to keep WBN updated in regards to a future decision as it's not a foregone conclusion that the deal will be signed off.
WBC title holder Wilder had stated he'd agreed the terms of the deal stated previously Joshua, which Hearn has since confirmed have not been altered in the documents in the possession of Finkel.
Everything should now be in place, although it's worrying for fans that an official confirmation of the signatures is yet to be forthcoming.
With Joshua v Povetkin ready to go, it seems that fight could be the focus moving forward unless Wilder throws a spanner in the works and sends back the completed forms by the end of the week.
The pair would meet in a UK collision by November this year before a second meeting in the United States in the late spring or early summer of 2019.
Stephen Espinoza is confident Anthony Joshua will take on Deontay Wilder this year, even though he suspects there may not be a lot of negotiating going on between the heavyweight champions.
Joshua and Wilder have been locked in talks over a unification showdown for several months, but there had been very little agreement between the two camps until recently.
Wilder suddenly announced he had accepted Joshua’s demands and was ready to sign a contract to fight the Brit in the UK.
But since that exciting development, there has been no more significant updates despite confirmation Wilder had received the contract.
Espinoza, president of Showtime Sports, gave his view on the state of talks.
‘There’s a lot of positioning,’ Espinoza told TMZ.
‘I think anytime you see guys talking to the press about a negotiation, generally that means there’s very little actual negotiating going on. But the ball is rolling.
‘Things are moving. Discussions are happening. I think that once we get past a certain hump it will happen very quickly. So I’m still optimistic we’ll get it this year.’
How come only in boxing are contractual negotiations long, drawn out episodes that are played out ad naseum before the public and media?
When athletes in other sports are involved in contract talks with management (promoters), neither side usually feels compelled to discuss it and issue endless belittling comments about each other.
SenorPipino wrote: ↑22 Jun 2018, 10:29
How come only in boxing are contractual negotiations long, drawn out episodes that are played out ad naseum before the public and media?
When athletes in other sports are involved in contract talks with management (promoters), neither side usually feels compelled to discuss it and issue endless belittling comments about each other.
Why is this only a boxing thing?
In my opinion it is because there is so little media attention to the sport itself. Any publicity is good publicity to a point.
It is probably greater than 50% of the attention the sport gets from the mainstream media
The negotiations get far more attention than the fight itself.
I have a hunch these negotiations would go a lot smoother and quicker if the 2 sides didn't feel a need to grandstand before the media on every little issue and detail.
Playing it out publically is apparently becoming a major part of the game.
SenorPipino wrote: ↑22 Jun 2018, 10:59
That's probably true.
The negotiations get far more attention than the fight itself.
I have a hunch these negotiations would go a lot smoother and quicker if the 2 sides didn't feel a need to grandstand before the media on every little issue and detail.
Playing it out publically is apparently becoming a major part of the game.
Yes Sir. I agree it is the only part of the game to some people.
And the title of the article could easily read. " Hearn will not respond to questions on contract"
There are always 2 sides. The contract arrived late Monday 3 days past the Friday that Hearn promised it would be there.
Now we have to wait for responses from both sides and any ammendments to the contract to be made and then signed.
It is a game of waiting