By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Anthony Joshua seemed surprised Thursday that Deontay Wilder hasn’t drawn more criticism for announcing Tuesday night that his next fight will be a rematch with Luis Ortiz.

Joshua had hoped to revisit negotiations for a long-discussed heavyweight showdown with Wilder after his fight against Andy Ruiz Jr. on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The British superstar wondered aloud before a press conference Thursday at The Beacon Theater what fan reaction would’ve been if he had disclosed this week that he’s planning to face Alexander Povetkin again in his next fight.

The 29-year-old Joshua stopped Russia’s Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs) in the seventh round of his last bout, September 22 at Wembley Stadium in London. The 33-year-old Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs) stopped Ortiz in the 10th round of their March 2018 bout, but Ortiz hurt the WBC champion late in the seventh round.

Even though Ortiz buzzed Wilder and at least briefly placed Joshua-Wilder in doubt, Joshua obviously doesn’t consider their rematch something that needs to take place prior to what would be the most lucrative event in boxing.

“If it was me,” Joshua said, “if I rematched Povetkin next, if I went and rematched Povetkin next, I think I would’ve – I think, I don’t know, I’ve got a lot more pressure than most people. So, it is what it is. He makes the decisions that I’m able to make if I wanted to, but I try not to. And if it was me, how would they have dealt with me? So, I just look at it from that point of view.”

Now that Wilder-Ortiz II appears to be all but a done deal for September, Joshua joked that he doesn’t expect consumers to complain if he faces an opponent he already has stopped.

“It’s good because these guys, as I’ve said, they’re five years, six years ahead of me, in terms of years on their pro line,” Joshua said. “So, I learn from these guys and their decisions. So, if I do rematch Povetkin next, I don’t wanna hear anyone complaining, because it’s just the way of the beast now.”

As Joshua laughed, promoter Eddie Hearn clarified that the IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO champion was joking by noting, “We’re not rematching Povetkin next.”

Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs), of Watford, England, is listed by most sports books as at least a 25-1 favorite over Ruiz (32-1, 21 KOs), of Imperial, California.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.