By Keith Idec
Deontay Wilder wants boxing fans to know he understands their frustration.
Wilder realizes they’re growing tired of reading and hearing about the huge heavyweight fight everyone wants to see – Wilder against Anthony Joshua. The unbeaten WBC champion knows they want Wilder-Joshua to happen next, not two or three fights down the dangerous road on which one of them could get knocked off and ruin the biggest bout in the sport that hasn’t been made.
Wilder hopes Joshua was serious when he said following his victory over Joseph Parker on Saturday night that he wants Wilder next. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native just isn’t sure Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn are as interested as him in making their much-discussed showdown a reality any time soon.
“I’m gonna make my money regardless,” Wilder told BoxingScene.com. “My family’s gonna eat regardless. But at the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, if this fight don’t never be made, the world will know why it wasn’t made. It won’t be because of Deontay Wilder. It’ll be because of Anthony Joshua and his team. I’m my own boss. I say who I wanna fight. He’s not his own boss.
“What is he doing? If he was his own boss, he would make the decision. He let everybody else speak for him. I say what I want. Why can’t he do the same? People are getting tired, man, and I’m just gonna wash my hands of this situation. I’m gonna let the people, let the fans, let the reporters, I’m gonna let everybody that’s dealing with boxing come out and smoke them out of there.”
Joshua revealed after defeating Parker by unanimous decision that he wants to travel to the United States to have a serious discussion about boxing Wilder next with Wilder’s adviser, Al Haymon, and Wilder’s co-manager, Shelly Finkel. Barry Hearn, Eddie’s father and the founder of Matchroom Boxing, also told BBC Radio on Sunday that he’ll begin discussions with Wilder’s team this week.
The 32-year-old Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) would make a career-high, eight-figure purse for facing the 28-year-old Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), who reportedly earned an $18 million guarantee for fighting New Zealand’s Parker.
Eddie Hearn has also discussed Joshua boxing American Jarrell Miller or Russia’s Alexander Povetkin next.
Miller (21-0-1, 18 KOs) would need to defeat France’s Johann Duhaupas (37-4, 24 KOs) on April 28 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn to have a chance to become the foe for Joshua’s debut in the United States sometime in August, also at Barclays Center. Povetkin (34-1, 24 KOs) is the mandatory challenger for Joshua’s WBA heavyweight title.
Wilder would travel the United Kingdom to fight Joshua, who has become a huge star there. Joshua said Saturday night he would listen if an offer to battle Wilder in the United States is worth more than a fight that would undoubtedly draw an enormous crowd in the UK.
“We’re not chasing nobody,” Wilder said. “We’re not gonna be running down nobody because it’s not supposed to be this way. He’s a champion, I’m a champion and, you know, the best are supposed to fight the best. It shouldn’t be this hard. They’re being so childish and they’re making people lose interest in this sport because of these same tactics. We’ve seen these things before, where people stall out fights and try to make it bigger and better.
“No, this fight is worth everything right now. It’s ready to go right now. The hype is on it right now. That’s all people talk about every day, this fight right now. And all these stalling tactics, it’s enough. I’m ready. There’s no denying that I want the fight. You know I want it. I’ve been saying that. I’ve been stressing that. I just need them to accept this fight, accept the terms, give us the location and the date, and we’re there.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.