Deontay Wilder has named Anthony Joshua as his number one choice of opponent after being asked who he could face should he beat Robert Helenius in his next fight.
Speaking to FightHype.com, the former WBC heavyweight champion also mentioned Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk as potential future opponents, but highlighted Joshua as the fight he wants – and he knows the fans do too.
“You got the [Oleksandr] Usyks, [Andy] Ruiz, [Anthony] Joshuas – they’re the top three guys that people want to see, especially Joshua, that’s the number one fight in the world for me, me and him.”
“Everywhere I go all I hear is people say me and Joshua, and that’s the number one fight for them as well. With that being said, if that is the number one fight in the world for me then that’s what I want.”
Wilder faces Robert Helenius at the Barclays Center in New York this Saturday. It looked possible for a while that Wilder would retire after his devastating defeat in the trilogy fight with Tyson Fury, however this return marks his fight back to the top.
Two-time heavyweight champion ‘AJ’ is rumoured to face a top fifteen ranked opponent in January/February of 2023 after negotiations for a potential ‘Battle of Britain’ super fight with Fury fell through last month. Joshua is coming off his rematch defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in August.
Wilder and Joshua were in talks to fight for the undisputed title in 2019 but that never came to fruition, and looked even more unlikely to happen after Joshua was shockingly stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden, losing his unified crown.
Since then, talks of a potential matchup have been unsuccessful but perhaps a bit more promising. With all the titles tied up and both men on the ‘comeback trail’, it looks like Joshua vs Wilder could be a fight we could well see in 2023.