Wilder Wants To Face The Winner Of Fury Vs. Usyk
Deontay Wilder wants the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
The ‘Bronze Bomber’ is currently readying himself to fight Joseph Parker on December 23rd, 2023, in Saudi Arabia. A win over the former WBO heavyweight champion is likely to set up a summer clash with Anthony Joshua.
The American has been linked with a fight against AJ ever since 2018. At that moment, the undisputed heavyweight championship was on the line. Both boxers would lose their belts as the fight broke down despite Wilder’s offer of $50 million to make the fight. Wilder lost his WBC title to Tyson Fury, while Joshua would lose his belts to Andy Ruiz Jr. and then Oleksandr Usyk. But looking ahead, Wilder was only keen on facing the winner of Fury-Usyk.
Wilder Reacts
“If you’ve got all the belts, you’re gonna have to fight me… That’s still my goal – wipe out the entire division,” Wilder said
Nevertheless, that is unlikely to happen moving forward. The winner is required to defend the titles against the IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic. The failure to do so would result in the winner being stripped. And in any event, there is a two-way rematch clause that will likely get activated.
Therefore, moving forward, Joshua is the next likely opponent. The WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman hinted that such a fight could be for a WBC title eliminator, which gives the winner a title shot. At the same time, Joshua could also face Hrgovic. Both fighters are currently with Matchroom, which makes it a lot easier to get the fight done.
Wilder On AJ
In addition, facing Hrgovic over Wilder for a title shot makes more sense in that Joshua would take a lot less risk. And given that there is a chance that the winner of Fury-Usyk retires, AJ could become a full champion by default if he possesses an interim belt. However, Wilder felt that Joshua’s side was not keen on a fight, as he called out Eddie Hearn.
“He doesn’t want that fight because he’s not confident in his product. Joshua is the only money-making fighter Matchroom has. They don’t want to see their business fall to the likes of me, someone that can end someone’s career. He’s a businessman, and he’s not going to put his business on the line for something that he’s not sure of. He knows that if I get in the ring with Joshua, I will knock him out. And he can’t afford to have his golden boy lose,” Wilder stated
However, if the fight does not get made, then it will play into the narrative that Joshua had ducked Wilder. When the talks first broke down, both sides blamed each other, only for Hearn to later admit that a $50 million offer was made.
But given that Joshua had to accept the terms before a contract was sent, Hearn revealed that this was not feasible which put an end to the chance of a fight. So unless Wilder and Joshua fight, boxing fans may miss out on what could have been a classic.
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