Report: Deontay Wilder won't take reported offer of $12.5 million to fight Anthony Joshua, team outraged

No deal...so it seems.

Boxing fans will have to wait a little longer -- maybe a lot longer for the highly-anticipated fight between three-belt heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua (four if you count the IBO) and WBC titlist Deontay Wilder for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

On Monday evening, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn, of Matchroom Sport, made an offer to Al Haymon, Wilder's adviser, for a fight. According to multiple reports, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist was offered $12.5 million, but nothing more. No pay-per-view revenue, sales, nothing. It is a flat fee. Take it or leave it is the popular saying.

Sources with knowledge of the situation reporting exclusively to FightNights.com say Wilder's team was insulted by the "bogus" offer, and have "nothing to say."

Wilder promoter Lou DiBella would not confirm the existence of the offer, but did not deny it.

So far, the undefeated Wilder (40-0, 39 KO's), 32, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has not explicitly commented on these reports. However, he may have been hinting about the deal in an Instagram post Tuesday afternoon.

"It’s obvious at this point 40-0 w/39ko’s they don’t want no smoke," Wilder said, likely referring to Joshua and Hearn.

"At some point in life a boy must detach his lips from mum nipples and become a man, I’m just saying."

Let's say the bout makes $80 million. Based on our calculations, that is approximately an 85-15 split of the money.

The unbeaten Joshua won a third heavyweight title belt with his victory over Parker on March 31 in Cardiff, but his 100 percent knockout record was snapped, going the distance for the first time in his professional career. The bout did have its moments, but it was not the most scintillating affair.

Joshua-Parker had a peak audience of 379,000, which was less than Saturday's main event of a Showtime-televised tripleheader in Las Vegas, Erislandy Lara vs. Jarrett Hurd, which drew a peak audience of 521,000.

Wilder's last fight on March 3, an exhilarating 10th-round knockout of former interim titlist Luis Ortiz, had a peak audience of 1.2 million viewers. However, as far as live audience is concerned, the advantage belongs to Joshua. Over his last three fights, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist has averaged around 82,000 tickets sold.

Joshua is clearly the A-side, but an 85-15 split is a sign that Hearn is not serious about making the fight happen -- at least not yet. Keep in mind, middleweights Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin went through a similar episode prior to their September 2017 fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Golden Boy Promotions, who represents Canelo, offered GGG a flat fee, but Golovkin's management pushed for a 40 percent cut of the money.

Wilder has said he is willing to travel to the UK to square off against Joshua, but for 10 to 15 percent of the money? That is a slap in the face more than anything.

Sorry fans, but Joshua-Wilder is not happening anytime soon.

Sources tell FightNights.com that undefeated world title contender Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller (20-0-1, 18 KO's) could get a shot at Joshua in the near future. Miller is ranked the No. 3. contender by three different sanctioning bodies, including the WBA, IBF, and the WBO.