WBC heavyweight champion more confident than ever he would be victorious in a title unification bout with Joshua after watching the Brit’s win over Joseph Parker.
Deontay Wilder finally heard it from Anthony Joshua’s lips on Saturday.
“Wilder, let’s go, baby, let’s go. On this side of the pond, we are serious. Great Britain, the United Kingdom,” Joshua said, after his unanimous decision victory over Joseph Parker on Saturday night.
But just as quickly, Joshua evoked the name of Tyson Fury, the former champion from Britain who hasn’t fought in two years.
“Wilder or Fury. Either one. What would I have to do to beat Wilder? Get him in the ring and I’ll knock him spark out.”
That was music to the ears of Wilder, who holds the WBC heavyweight title. Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs) picked up a third world title with the victory over Parker, of New Zealand, in Cardiff, Wales on Saturday night. A Wilder-Joshua fight would be for the undisputed heavyweight championship. It would the first time since Lennox Lewis held the title in 2000.
“Joshua’s finally called out my name and now he's backed himself into a corner. So now it’s time,” Wilder said. “We know he don’t want it, which is why there was a smirk on his face when he said it.
“But the people want this fight, which I’ve said for the last year and a half or so. I’ve been the one saying I wanted the fight all of this time, so, let’s do it. As far as where it happens, it can happen anywhere. I can’t wait until they colonize Mars. We can even do it there.”
The addition of Tyson Fury’s name in Joshua’s post-fight statement is troubling for those thinking his next fight will be against Wilder. Fury defeated Wladimir Klitchko for three world titles in 2016. But he has taken a hiatus from boxing to get his life in order.
“Tyson Fury’s out of boxing right now and doesn’t even have a license. If you were to ask me to go off of my feelings, I don’t give a damn if Joshua’s lying or not. I just know that he made the biggest mistake of his life by mentioning my name on national television. People don’t care about all of the talk or about all of the hype. They just want to see me and Joshua fight.”
Wilder questioned Joshua’s abilities to handle his awkward, unorthodox style—called amateurish by some—given the 2012 Olympic gold medalist’s relative lack of fluidity against Parker’s maneuverability.
“After watching Joshua against Parker, it would be an easier fight than I thought. I’m gonna have fun in there," Wilder said. “Joshua was robotic, reminding me of how robotic Klitchko was, barely throwing punches during his loss to Tyson Fury.
“He was so tight and stationary with his arms clutched together. Joshua won’t be able to follow me or handle all of my movement. I’m too mobile, giving him too many angles and changing the trajectory of my head or punches at any given time.”
“ After watching Joshua against Parker, it would be an easier fight than I thought. I’m gonna have fun in there. I’m too dangerous. I'm the first of my kind, bringing a new style to boxing. ” Heavyweight World Champion Deontay Wilder, on future title unification bout with Anthony Joshua
Wilder believes his awkward style will work to his advantage against Joshua.
“My style isn’t textbook. It’s unpredictable and it’s something you can’t train for as far as sparring partners,” he said. “People say I'm unorthodox, I do everything wrong and I don't have proper technique, but the bottom line is that I have the ultimate power to knock everybody out, which is scary. I don’t even know the limits of my power. That’s why I’ll knock him out. I’m too dangerous. I'm the first of my kind, bringing a new style to boxing.”
The fact that Joshua’s contract had a rematch clause in the event that he lost to the 26-year-old Parker “says a lot about his confidence level,” Wilder said.
“It’s too much pressure for him to lead his nation, and a whole lot of work involved in dodging people. That’s not me,” Wilder said. “But if they want to have a rematch clause for our fight, that’s on them. I’m willing. I’ll just deal with it and do my thing, but after I beat him, I’d gladly beat him again if he wants it.”
Wilder, meanwhile, is more confident following his seventh title defense by a dramatic 10th-round knockout of Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz. He floored Ortiz once in the fifth and twice in the final round after being staggered, himself, in the seventh on the way to handing Ortiz the first loss of his career.
“Ortiz was a challenging fight and the defining career win that I needed because he’s a southpaw who made me have to think. Ortiz is better than Joshua and Parker and would beat them both,” Wilder said.
“I am the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, and Ortiz is No. 2. If anybody doesn’t believe that, please put your fighter up against me. I’m Deontay Wilder, the baddest man on the planet, and I’m here to stay.”
For a closer look at Deontay Wilder, check out his fighter page.
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