Deontay Wilder released a statement regarding Anthony Joshua following his shocking defeat against Joseph Parker.
Earlier this month, the boxing community was delighted to hear that Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua were close to finalizing a two-fight deal. The only thing standing in the way of the highly-anticipated heavyweight showdown was each fighter needing a respective win at Day of Reckoning in Saudi Arabia.
On December 23, the must-see super-fight fell apart when Wilder struggled against Joseph Parker before the latter emerged victorious by unanimous decision. As for Joshua, he looked phenomenal against Otto Wallin and secured a fifth-round TKO win.
Following his disappointing performance, Wilder reacted to his third professional boxing loss during an interview with 78SPORTSTV. When asked about the two-fight deal with Joshua, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ accused ‘AJ’ of not being interested regardless of the December 23 outcome:
“It’s so much going on. [Anthony Joshua and his team] really don’t want that fight. They really don’t want that fight, and when I lost, you see how happy he was coming out… I saw it in the back. I swear to god, I bust out laughing in the back when I saw that…I made him be able to perform like, ‘sh*t, I ain’t gotta fight Wilder.’ The rumor was he was talking about retiring if I won.”
118-111
118-110
120-108Joe Parker has defeated Deontay Wilder on the scorecards! ✍️
Watch #DayOfReckoning LIVE on TNT Sports Box Office ▶️ https://t.co/xn85V5NLHU pic.twitter.com/nFQ2FkSna3
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) December 23, 2023
Deontay Wilder says Anthony Joshua ‘doesn’t want to fight the best of the best’
Anthony Joshua has fought several elite heavyweights during his professional boxing career, including Andy Ruiz Jr. x2 and Oleksandr Usyk x2. Yet, the beloved former world champion hasn’t fought Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury, leading to accusations from Wilder about not wanting to fight the best.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ had this to say during the previously mentioned interview with 78SPORTSTV:
“I don’t have nothing to say about him. I just know he don’t wanna fight the best of the best. I just know that. I know that, and that ain’t hating, that ain’t dislike because I don’t have an opinion of what I like or dislike. He just don’t fight. He ain’t done that to me. He didn’t wanna break bread with me. We could have made some great money together and still can.”
Deontay Wilder’s loss against Joseph Parker has led some fans to question whether his age and inactivity have taken away from his world championship potential. Meanwhile, Wilder hasn’t officially retired, as he believes his primary issue is losing his killer instinct, which he plans to regain.
Only time will tell if the 38-year-old decides to fight again.
Watch Deontay Wilder’s entire interview with 78SPORTSTV below:
