WBC Champ thinks that Joshua’s team is scared of fight with him
With Gennady Golovkin vs Canelo Alvarez Part 2 set to get under way on May 5th boxing fans are being treated to one of the biggest fights that can be made in the sport. The other big fight fans across the world want to see is WBA & IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua face WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
Both guys have big fights coming up in March with Wilder set to face Luis Ortiz on March 3rd and Joshua will square off in an unification bout with WBO champion Joseph Parker. They’re both considered the favorite to win their upcoming bouts and fans would love to see them fight each other next if both should win.
Wilder has told any and everybody that Joshua is THE fight he wants most. Joshua hasn’t been quite as outgoing about seeking the fight as Wilder but he has said he knows it’s the fight fans want to see and he’s more than happy to give the fans what they want so let’s make it happen he says.
Wilder however believes that while Joshua may want the fight his team don’t. He thinks everyone around Joshua including promoter Eddie Hearn are content with the UK star staying in his home country fighting contenders and mandatories.
“Everybody wants to see the fight,” said Wilder. “The only people that don’t are his promoters. They already know how big of a risk this really is. They should be worried but how long do they really think the public, the fans of boxing are going to allow them to stay away from me? This is the biggest fight in our era.”
“If they feel that they want to unify, then, hey, you must go through me. All roads lead to Deontay Wilder because I am going nowhere, no time soon.”
He also said Joshua needs to come to the USA because fans over here don’t have a clue who he is.
“He may have his country behind him and that’s it,” Wilder said to Cillian O Conchuir.
“Does he want to be remembered as a country-wide champion? Because he’s not worldwide [champion]. Over here in America they don’t even know his name. They just know him as a big guy from England. That’s fact.”
While there’s no doubt Wilder is the guy that a fight between the two benefits the most financially, it would also more than likely be Joshua’s highest payday as well. Wilder said that both guys need each other to help secure their legacies.
“I need him and he needs me at the end of the day, unless he doesn’t want to unify. Unless he wants to stay over his side of the pond and let people gravitate to him and be a fake sign of what he [says he] is. But he will never be a global icon. You will never be a world-wide figure without me. All roads lead to Deontay Wilder.”
Personally I think fans could consider themselves extremely lucky if somehow this fight gets made this year much less next. With that being said man oh man do I ever hope that I’m wrong.
By: Chris Henderson
