Deontay Wilder insists Anthony Joshua fight only happens with 50-50 split of purse
WBC champion has thrown serious doubt on potential of unification belt with Joshua as he demands equal money and claims he is the biggest name in world boxing
DEONTAY WILDER says there is no chance he will fight Anthony Joshua unless there is a 50-50 split of the purse.
Boxing fans have been calling for a unification fight between WBC heavyweight champion Wilder and Britain’s title holder Anthony Joshua.
In negotiations until now, the Joshua camp have offered terms in his favour due to the four-belt champion’s bigger appeal.
But Wilder, 33, insists he is the biggest draw in boxing and his much-hyped meeting with Joshua will not happen until the contracts treat them equally.
Speaking to , Wilder said: “Loyalty is everything, it’s the foundation of success.
“How can you do negotiations, a deal, if we don’t know what the other party is doing?
“Whatever the fight was worth, let’s say $3, and you give me $1 and he gets the rest of the pot – I’m lowering my standards. That’s not right to me.
“Like I said, and I’ll say it again, the only way this fight is going to happen is if it’s 50/50. I don’t care what it is.
“I’M THE HOTTEST”
“At this point in time it ain’t even about the belts. I’m the hottest, most talked about fighter in the world right now and I got one belt.
“I got the one belt that means more than all the other belts. That’s that green WBC belt. The most precious and beautiful belt in boxing. Every great fighter has had this belt.
“If they want to correct, it’s going to be right down the line.”
Wilder is currently in camp preparing for his mandatory title defence against fellow American Dominic Breazeale on May 18 after snubbing a huge three fight deal with DAZN which would have featured two clashes with his British rival.
Joshua beat Breazeale in only his 17th professional fight, and Wilder is eager to make a statement.
He added: “Me and Dominic Breazeale have bad blood for each other.
“So that’s what’s going to make the fight so intense, and that’s what’s going to make the fight so exciting, because of the real bad blood we have for each other.
“Everyone knows when Deontay Wilder gets in the ring, I have bad intentions for my fighters, even to the point of taking their lives. That’s just the way I work as the ‘Bronze Bomber.’
“Dominic Breazeale, you better be ready, baby. You better be getting close with your family every night, because I’m coming.”