Anthony Joshua says he wants to fight Deontay Wilder and become the unified boxing heavyweight champion. In fact, he says he’s been saying it for a while — just nobody seems to take him at his word.
Joshua recently took a trip to the States where he did the media rounds and naturally faced questions about Tyson Fury and Wilder’s recent twelve round epic, and who (if either) he’d rather meet out of those two men. According to Joshua, the aim has remained the same since he entered combat sports: fight whoever has the world title.
“He [Wilder] is saying I won’t fight him but, as I’ve said, I’m willing to fight Deontay Wilder on April 13 in London, so I don’t know what more I have to do to get that message across,” Joshua said, speaking with ESPN’s Max Kellerman.
“I can’t control what Deontay Wilder does, I can’t control what Tyson Fury does or even as far as what they say. What I can do is control what I say and what I’m doing. I made sure with the negotiations, I booked the date in advance, set the venue in advance and I’m making my point clear in front of everyone watching: I’m willing to fight any one of these guys, especially the champion Deontay Wilder. On April 13 at Wembley. What more can I say?”
That’s not to say Joshua is shying away from fighting Fury. Should the pair ever meet, it would likely be the biggest boxing contest in British history. For now, however, Joshua is prioritizing belts over big fights — even if Fury wants to say he’s the lineal champion.
“When I was joining the heavyweight ranks, nobody told me about [being] lineal champion,” Joshua said. “I knew about the WBC, IBO, IBF, WBA and WBO [belts] and I’ve got my hands on four of them. So where has lineal popped up out of the woodwork from?
“But if I’ve got to get my hands on that too and that’s the belt the world’s interested in, Fury can step in if he’s serious. That’s where I’m coming from, I want to fight the champions. I’m the one leading the pack, I’ve been doing that since I made my debut.
“Five years in, seven world title defenses and I’m running the game — I mean business. I don’t know what more I have to do to get that message across to the world.”
