By Keith Idec
Anthony Joshua stopped at Deontay Wilder when he was asked Saturday night to list the opponents he wants to fight next.
The unbeaten British superstar also made it clear he is tired of discussing a heavyweight showdown with Wilder. Now he just wants that much-anticipated fight to happen.
“I don’t want to talk no more about it,” Joshua told Sky Sports in the ring following his seventh-round knockout of Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium in London. “You know what I mean? There’s no contract signed at the minute, so my number one would be Wilder and then – that’s it. That’s it. Let me not talk about number two, number three. Wilder, that’s it, yeah.”
For Joshua-Wilder to finally happen, Wilder must defeat another undefeated fighter from England. The American knockout artist will defend his WBC heavyweight title against former undisputed champion Tyson Fury on December 1 at Staples Center in Los Angeles (Showtime Pay-Per-View).
The 32-year-old Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) has opened as about a 2-1 favorite over the 30-year-old Fury (27-0, 19 KOs). Joshua declined to disclose who he thinks will win that fight.
“I only concentrate on myself, but good luck to both of them,” Joshua said. “I wish them well and may the champion bring himself to the UK, and let’s have a good dustup.”
Povetkin provided Joshua with a “good dustup” Saturday night. Their fight was very competitive until the seventh round, when Joshua dropped Povetkin twice and stopped him at 1:59 of that round.
The 28-year-old Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) became the first fighter to knock out the 39-year-old Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs).
Joshua also mentioned a rematch against rival Dillian Whyte as a possibility for his return to Wembley Stadium on April 13. Like Joshua, Whyte is promoted by Matchroom Boxing.
“As a champion, it’s just about moving on,” Joshua said during DAZN’s post-fight interview in the ring. “And people want to know what’s happening next. We booked [Wembley Stadium] April 13th for another good night of boxing, and anyone’s welcome to challenge me for my titles.”
Joshua insists it is Wilder he wants most, though.
“He needs to win in December, and then we need to sit down and get the little bits out of the way,” Joshua told DAZN. “You know what I mean? Remember, we’ve been negotiating [since] after the Takam fight, last year, so we’ve been a long time negotiating. … There’s a lot of back and forth, he said, she said. But ultimately, we’re two fighters, two champions in the same division, at the same time. So at the end of the day, we have to fight each other. You know where I’m coming from? It would be silly of us not to. Dillian stepped up, [Eric] Molina stepped up, [Dominic] Breazeale stepped up, Charles Martin stepped up, [Wladimir] Klitschko stepped up, Povetkin stepped up. Wilder will step up, or Fury will step up. So it’s just a matter of time.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
