Deontay Wilder is hoping to finally get his hands on Anthony Joshua in either late 2025 or early 2026.Joshua and Wilder have seen multiple attempts to get their fight over the line fall by the wayside over the years.Finkel claims Joshua is Wilder’s first choice opponent for his next fightGETTYIn 2019, when both men held all four major sanctioning body belts between them, plans were in place for the pair to square off after Wilder’s draw with Tyson Fury.DAZN offered Wilder $100million to sign an exclusive three-fight broadcasting deal with them, including two bouts with AJ.However, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ declined the proposal as he felt it wasn’t ‘truthful’.Flash forward to the present day, and neither man possesses a world title nor are they considered to be two of the top heavyweights on the planet.Yet, Wilder‘s manager, Shelly Finkel, believes there is still significant appetite for the fight.Especially, from his client who places AJ at the top of his hit list.Asked about Wilder’s next steps during an interview with BoxNation, Finkel said: “I’m going to see him next week in New York.“He is training, and he is going to be fighting again at the end of the year or early next [year].“We’d like — our first choice [of opponent] always would be (Anthony) Joshua.“But if we can’t get Joshua — if we could get (Oleksandr) Usyk, we’d fight him.“I believe [a fight with Joshua] is the biggest fight for him…Joshua hasn’t fought since September 2024, when he was knocked out by DuboisMark Robinson/Matchroom“And it’s the fight of the last decade, hopefully it’s this one. “[The fight is] not as big as it was, but it’s enormous. Enormous. “It would sell out any of the smaller arenas, and maybe with a good undercard, it could sell out a Wembley.”Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder’s recent formBoth Joshua and Wilder are entering the twilight of their careers, meaning they must act fast if they hope to get the fight over the line.Joshua hasn’t stepped between the ropes since his devastating knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, and is expected to launch a comeback in early 2026 before one last roll of the dice in the summer.Wilder has lost four of his last six fightsMark Robinson/MatchroomWilder returned to winning ways in June against the unheralded Tyrrell Herndon after losing four of his previous five fights.But the Tucaloosa boxer left a lot to be desired with his performance, and has looked like a shadow of his former self since his trilogy with Fury.