Deontay Wilder: Time to make Anthony Joshua fight, says American

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Deontay Wilder celebrates after beating Luis Ortiz in March
Deontay Wilder beat Luis Ortiz in March to retain his WBC heavyweight title

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder says it is "time to make the fight" between him and WBA, IBF and WBO title holder Anthony Joshua.

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has said the WBA has ordered the Briton to enter into negotiations with mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin.

"This is the biggest fight in world boxing," said American Wilder.

"You mean to tell me that a mandatory is going to overshadow a unification world title fight?"

Speaking to Behind the Gloves,external-link he added: "We would rather have this big fight."

Joshua, 28, added the WBO title to his IBF and WBA crowns with a unanimous points win over New Zealander Joseph Parker earlier this month.

Regarding Povetkin, his options are either to arrange a bout, vacate the belt or agree a deal that would see the 38-year-old Russian temporarily step aside and challenge him at a later date so he could fight Wilder.

A bout between Joshua and Wilder would result in the first man to hold all four major heavyweight titles.

Wilder, 32, has said he is happy to travel to the United Kingdom to fight Joshua but added that he thinks the Briton's camp may use the mandatory challenger as a way to "dodge" him.

"When Eddie wants an end-of-the-year fight, what he's trying to do is put another fight in place before getting to me," said the American.

"What makes sense to me, and the entire world, is having a summer fight [and then] a rematch end-of-the-year fight.

"I go over to England, whoop AJ and at the end of the year we come to Vegas - or wherever makes sense - and have a great Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. That sounds beautiful."

He added: "We all know that Deontay Wilder wants the fight. Why would I shy away from it?

"They do not want this fight. Everything that has been going on that's been slowing up this fight has been on their behalf.

"Don't let them fool you. At the end of the day it is Joshua's decision. Do they work for him or does he work for them?"

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89 comments

  • Surely audley Harrison’s hat should be thrown back in the ring now

  • 38 @ LD Belly

    No disrespect to your opinion, but it's unfair to refer to Parker as a 'joke'.
    He defended his titles against who he was matched against, only losing to who he referred to as 'the better champion' on the night.

    He is a gentleman and we would have had a decent fight (poss same result) had the ref allowed.
    Fair's fair. Respect where it's due.

    Respect to Mr Joseph Parker!

  • It's about time this dude got knock the f... out

  • Why do rather foolish people keep mentioning Tyson Fury? He has not fought a single round for two and a half years. He did a bit of laughable ‘training’ for the cameras and turned up to Hughie Fury’s contest looking like the Mitchelin man. He admits he has mental health and substance abuse issues. Why would an overweight, mentally unstable and addicted person be permitted to fight professionally?

  • Wilder says make the fight, the same fella who is avoiding top 10 fighters like the plague.

  • Parker was a bit of a joke but DW is a bigger joker.

    Wilder only got the belt when the bigger Klitschko retired then hid from the smaller Klitschko. AJ took the fight that no one wanted and won. The only other person to do that was T Fury

    Therefore the only fight the world really wants to see is AJ v Tyson

    If I was Herne I would push for Dillian Whyte to fight Wilder to prove his worth

  • C'mon Deontay, you're not fooling anyone. Frank Bruno would've eaten you for breakfast son!

    Deontay was very lucky to beat Ortiz with a proverbial 'Hail Mary shot'...although despite the fact that he was being soundly beaten on points, the judges clearly had his back....

  • #14 the same Wilder who struggled against Ortiz. Anyone with a good jab is going to make Wilder look like the wild windmiller that he is. Yes he has power but it takes an eternity to get there. I'd back Whyte to beat him too. He talks a lot but at the end of the day, just get on and sign the contracts. Make it happen Eddie!

  • Povetkin shouldnt even be boxing after being banned twice let alone given a title shot for beating price. Wilder need to fight dilion whyte before he's earned a shot at an and whyte is his mandatory

  • This daily AJ v Wilder news story gets a bit boring now. One says fight me. The other says fight me. Meanwhile nothing happens and they just repeat it over and over

  • personally think AJ doesnt need to rush into a fight with wilder this year should fight a mandatory get some more rounds under his belt then go for wilder early 2019. Wilder is only desperate for a payday make the giraffe wait. Would like to also mention mindless halfwits comenting AJ, wilder And fury and comparing fury would beat them. The guy is a over weight coke head when was his last fight

  • I can`t help thinking Wilder has little skill, Joshua knock him spark out.

  • Please AJ get this fight sorted and shut this American up, so tired of hearing this joker. Then we can have the real fight between AJ & Fury

  • It's easy for people to get caught up in the hype, or even to react against it. No matter what you think of Wilder, he's correct when he says that it's the fight people want to see. I mean, Povetkin would hardly raise my pulse - the Wilder fight is the one to get excited about as a boxing fan.

  • Joshua has a mandatory with Povetkin. Povetkin's team have insisted that this will take place and that they will not accept step aside money. If Joshua refuses to fight Povetkin, Joshua loses a belt. If Joshua loses a belt the whole brawl for it all is gone. This could all be seen coming ages ago. You win a world titles, you get mandatory challengers. This is on every boxing website.

  • Please BBC can you give this saga a rest now until your headline is actually:

    Joshua to fight Wilder on x of x 2018.

  • Too much talk about "all the belts" in recent weeks - irrelevant. Either AJ meets DW next or 1 / both camps don't want it. End of. You don't need all the belts to be no.1 so AJ can give up WBA strap to fight DW. In the mid 90s there was a period when the 4 dominant fighters held none between them; likewise Holmes reigned supreme for ~6 years without ever being unified champ. Matches over belts.

  • Time for Wilder to put pen to paper! Actions speak louder then words wilder son.

  • My cat has thicker (and stronger I guess) legs than Wilder.

  • I hope this fight happens soon so that AJ can knock this bum out and shut him up once and for all. He's becoming really tiresome now.

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