Steve Farhood, expert analyst for Showtime Boxing, views WBA, IBO, IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) as the favorite in a showdown with WBC champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs).
Both boxers are contractually tied with Showtime.
Later tonight, Joshua will defend his titles against Carlos Takam in Cardiff, and then next Saturday night in Brooklyn, Wilder will defend his title in a mandatory defense against Bermane Stiverne.
Wilder believes Joshua should come to the United States to make their unification happen, but Joshua sees no reason for that - especially since he's sold 90,000 seats for his last bout and 78,000 seats for tonight's the bout with Takam.
Farhood agrees with Joshua.
"Joshua doesn’t need to come here, he says he wants to but he doesn’t need to. The money being what it is, Joshua-Wilder doesn’t have to be a classic pay-per-view fight in America, it can just be a gigantic fight in England. As American fans we have been spoiled over the years because we get all the big heavyweight fights here for the most part. We have to understand that Joshua is a unique individual who is a global superstar and doesn’t necessarily need what America can give him," Farhood told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
As far as the fight itself, Farhood believes Joshua has the better record of wins. He views Joshua's win over Wladimir Klitschko - even at 40 - as being better than anything Wilder has done to date.
At the same time, Farhood has doubts that Joshua would be able to recover - like he did with Dillian Whyte and Klitschko - if Wilder lands his big right hand on the chin.
"I probably would make Joshua the favorite right now, but Wilder has that tremendous equalizer with the right hand. One of the reasons Joshua is so appealing is because he has shown vulnerability, not just against Klitschko, he showed vulnerability when he fought Dillian Whyte, he got hurt in that fight. Joshua has shown the ability to come back from getting in trouble, but I don’t know if he can take Wilder’s punch if he gets in trouble against Wilder," Farhood said.
"I would make Joshua the favorite going in right now, he’s fought tougher guys. He fought Klitschko and that alone makes his resume more impressive than Wilder, but Wilder has 37 knockouts in 38 fights."
