Deontay Wilder 43-2-1 (42) has reasserted his desire to face Anthony Joshua 26-3 (23) in a clash of former heavyweight champions.
The duo were expected to fight in Saudi Arabia this year before changes at financial backers Skill Challenge Entertainment saw the funding for the fight dry up.
American puncher Wilder, 38, hasn’t given up on facing the 34-year-old Brit next, despite boxing less than a round in the past two years.
“I just wanted to address two situations,” Wilder said in a video posted to social media. “The thing that has been brought to me is when I’m fighting again and I promise you guys I’ll be back very soon. It’s just sometimes the business of boxing has to run its course and let it do what it do, but I’ll be back very soon.
“And another thing I wanted to address with a fight that everyone is looking forward to and hopefully happens, and I’m doing everything in my power to make it happen. And I’m referring to the Anthony Joshua fight. So, Anthony, you’re hearing it from my mouth, here personally from the horse’s mouth himself: ‘Hey I’m here, I’m ready, I’m ready to go.’
“I heard some things about what your promoter said, that my last fight [a first-round knockout of Robert Helenius] only lasted a short period of time, that I ain’t fought in a year and he don’t know if I want to fight or not. But I’m letting you know right now, right here, I’m ready to fight, I’m ready to get in that ring, man. Let’s make this the best time of our lives.
“This would be a major disaster if we would never be able to get in the ring and put our stamp down in history, bro, you know what I mean? When people think about classic and great fights, I want them to think about us as well. And being able to do that, we got to get in the ring. That’s just what it’s all about.
“The silliest thing I’ve heard is people saying that you’re not ready. That’s the silliest thing. I don’t believe that. I believe you’re ready. I hope you’re ready. I think you’re ready. Let’s make this happen, bro. Me and you. Let’s make the history happen. Looking forward to hearing your response bro. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Meanwhile, retired former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton has warned Joshua that he will need to revert to his old ways if he is to defeat Wilder.
“Genuinely I think one of the issues is that he has got a new trainer, Derrick James, and they are trying to change his style a little bit,” Frampton told Simon Jordan’s Up Front podcast.
“So, I think that he is boxing in a way that the coach wants him to and I think that is probably in preparation for fights like Wilder or [Tyson] Fury or maybe [Oleksandr] Usyk if they come again, the trainer doesn’t want him to be so gung-ho.
“When you look at his performance against [Jermaine] Franklin, I think that he is performing like that because that is the instructions that he has been told to box to, for potential preparation for future fights.
“The way that I think AJ beats someone like Wilder is to be a bit more like the old ‘AJ’ and have a go, and I think that if he tries to stand off and box then he might get nailed and knocked out.”
