Deontay Wilder ‘can’t wait’ to face Anthony Joshua in unification fight despite claims he is running scared of Brit heavyweight champ
WBC heavyweight world champion announced he will defend his belt against mandatory challenger Dominmic Breazeale next - leaving the AJ bout shelved
DEONTAY WILDER insisted he “can’t wait” to meet Anthony Joshua in an undisputed title fight - despite claims he was running scared of the Brit.
Yesterday the WBC heavyweight world champion announced he will defend his belt against mandatory challenger Dominmic Breazeale, 32, on May 18.
The announcement came after rumours The Bronze Bomber had been offered a $100m (£75m) three-fight deal with Joshua’s US network DAZN.
After declining the deal to instead face Breazeale on Showtime, unbeaten Wilder, 33, was hit with the suggestion he was avoiding AJ, 29, - however, the American insisted he “can’t wait” for the fight.
I am that man that can knock you out, at any given time, any given round, any given minute, any given second.
Deontay Wilder
Wilder said: "Oh man, I can't wait for (Joshua) either.
"Four months of negotiations and they knew they didn't want the fight. Stop. What more do I have to do for people?
"I've tried to show people and I'll continue to still prove that I am the best.
“I'll continue to give people the fights that they want to see. But they got to be in cooperation with my team as well too.
"Because fighters, I understand, they have choices. They have a choice to make whether to get in there with the man, the myth and the legend.
"I am that man that can knock you out, at any given time, any given round, any given minute, any given second."
WILDER 'DOES NOT WANT' AJ
Barry Hearn, who’s son Eddie promotes unified champion Joshua, told that Wilder “does not want” the unification bout, after declining DAZN’s offer.
Hearn said: "Wilder rejecting this (DAZN) deal shows what he is thinking. Luckily the boxing fans today are smart enough to see that he doesn’t want to get in the ring with Anthony Joshua.
“Nobody does and that's the problem. He can say anything he wants but it's obvious to everyone now that this is not coming from our side.
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“Wilder has signed up with Showtime and that makes this fight so much harder to make. We made this offer to try and make it easier but there you go.
“It's a shame because Eddie (Hearn) has been pushing so hard to make the Wilder-Joshua fight but it just isn't there.
“Wilder has been offered $100 million but he thinks he can earn good money fighting lesser opponents and then build up the purse to fight Joshua later down the line.”
