Deontay Wilder continues to discuss the frustrating and prolonged negotiations with Anthony Joshua.
The American knockout artist has been out of the ring since a one-round finish of Robert Helenius last October, the bout prior to that being his loss to Tyson Fury in late 2022.
This year, all the talk has been dominated by a match-up with Joshua who, like Wilder, lost his championship status not so long ago. To get back to the top, the pair must deliver on a long-held promise to fight.
An offer from Saudi Arabia’s Skill Challenge Entertainment is now off the table, knocking what seemed like productive negotiations back a fair bit.
In light of that deal failing, Wilder criticised his fellow former champion’s mindset when speaking to 78SportsTV.
“With Anthony, I’ve always felt he had a weak mindset. I’ve always felt he wasn’t too confident in himself. He needs that affirmation of words to tell himself certain things. I been saying that for a long time, and it just continues to seem that way.”
Wilder says he wants to make the fight happen ‘for the state of boxing’ win lose or draw, but doesn’t feel the Brit – nor his promoter – has the same mentality.
“At some point in time he gotta grow up and become a man. What I mean as a man is a man in the state of boxing. You gotta say ‘I’m gonna overcome my fears, I’m gonna make this fight no matter what my promoter might say.'”
“He really don’t wanna fight me. It’s more pressure each and every time someone mentions it. He’s gotta understand that, as long as your in this business of boxing and I’m in it, people are gonna want to see that match-up. We can fight each other three, four, five times. People will sit and watch it every time.”
In a final send off, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ told Joshua to find ‘courage and bravery’ to give the fans what they want.
“Let me know if Joshua responds if he gets him a little heart, some kind of courage or bravery, and see if we can start brand new. It’s about that time now. We can’t wait no more … You gotta start making your commands and demands and don’t get sucked into the bull***t of what the promotion is doing.”
The latest update from the business side of things is that the teams are looking for a site and targetting spring of 2024. Fans will hope that both men fight between then and now should that be the case.