IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20KOs) has made it clear that WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) will have to come over to the UK if the two of them are going to unify in the near future.
Joshua has been a ticket-selling monster in the UK - with 90,000 coming out for his April 2017 clash with Wladimir Klitschko in Wembley, 78,000 for the voluntary with Carlos Takam at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, and close to the same number at Principality for last month's contest with Joseph Parker.
Wilder has fought on the road in the past, including the UK, and won't have a problem traveling over if the money is right.
According to Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, the next fight will come against Wilder or WBA/WBO mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin.
The World Boxing Association recently ordered Joshua to make a mandatory defense against Povetkin, who last month scored a brutal knockout of David Price.
Joshua says his earning power has given him the right to call the shots - at least in the first bout.
“We can eat together and put on a great show at Wembley or Cardiff, somewhere in the UK, and become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I’m happy being based here and I think a lot of my supporters are happy me fighting here as well," Joshua said to Sky Sports.
“I think the first one has to be in the UK. I want to be able to call that shot because I’ve worked extremely hard to put myself in a power position when it comes to the negotiations, so hopefully, he’ll understand and come to the UK to get this fight on.
“The same deal we’re going to offer Wilder, I would have grabbed that with both hands. I just looked at it as a flip-reverse. I’m an astute businessman. Even though I fight, I’m a hustler, I’ve got a strategy, I’m very smart and I educate myself. The deal I looked at for Wilder is the same deal I looked at for myself – and I would have been over the moon with a deal like that at that stage so we’ll see how he takes it.”
