Deontay Wilder speaks exclusively with Mirror Fighting on Anthony Joshua fight and MMA move
Boxing heavyweight Deontay Wilder wants to meet Anthony Joshua in person and finally agree terms for a blockbuster fight. He followed this up by claiming the 2012 Olympic gold medallist is scared to face him in the ring.
“I just don’t know what’s up with Joshua bro,” he told Blue Blood Sports TV. “Maybe I’m gonna have to go to England and sit down with him on some real man s***. I don’t want him to feel like I have anything against him, but I know he’s afraid of me.
“Joshua – me and you is the biggest fight in the world bro, what are you doing? I really wanna talk to that dude.” The pair were unable to agree terms for an undisputed title showdown when they held all four of the division’s major belts between them.
In October, speculation regarding a potential bout between the two for 2024 in Saudi Arabia began to intensify. This is despite Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn saying in September that negotiations for a fight with Wilder have “not materialised” and would rather seek another venue for a fight in either February or March 2024.
Wilder, now 38, has not fought since knocking out Robert Helenius in the first round in October 2022 but he believes he is in prime condition to face Joshua. “(It is) a fight everyone is looking forward to and hopefully it happens and I’m doing everything in my power to make it happen, and I’m referring to the Anthony Joshua fight,” Wilder said on Instagram last month.
“Anthony, you’re getting it from the horse’s mouth himself: I’m here, I’m ready to go. I heard some things your promoter said that my last fight only lasted a short period of time and I haven’t fought in a year and he doesn’t know if I want to fight or not. But I’m letting you know I’m ready to fight – let’s make this the best time of our lives. This would be a major disaster if we were never able to get in the ring and put our stamp down in history.”
After consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua returned to winning ways when he defeated Jeremain Franklin by unanimous decision in April.
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Four months later he faced Wilder’s last opponent Helenius, who replaced AJ’s original opponent, Dillian Whyte, who failed a drug test. The 34-year-old knocked out the boxing veteran in the seventh round and in 2024 the British boxing star will be aiming to get back into the title picture.
During a BBC interview with documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux, Joshua said: “This is all I know, this is what I dedicate my life to. Do I want to get myself to the championship? I would love to. Am I going to be smart in how I get there? Yes. Do I know more about boxing than I used to? 100 percent. Am I still trying to improve as a boxer? Yes.”
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