Deontay Wilder 43-2-1 (42) says the career of heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua 26-3 (23) is build on smoke and mirrors.
The 38-year-old former WBC champion from Tuscaloosa, Alabama has long been linked to a fight against ex-unified ruler Joshua, but to date the pair never never met in the prize ring.
“I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it again: it’s a difference between champions being born and being made,” Wilder said on The Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer when comparing his career to the 34-year-old Brit’s.
“And Joshua was made, you understand me? He was a made fighter. They bought things, they gave him things. Even with certain things, with the arena. ‘Oh, they sold this.’ No! Y’all didn’t sell out nothin’. Y’all comped tickets and y’all resold them.
“I know how the whole game works, bro. I’m behind scenes. I know how things work. You wanted it to seem like it sold out, you put your tickets out there, and you build your own little ticket thing and you buy all your tickets. Now it seems like you sold out the arena. And what you do? All you do is put it back on the market and resell it.”
Wilder added: “It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, when it comes to the business. And now people on the outside looking in, ‘Oh my God, they sold out faster than Michael fucking J[ackson].’ Are you serious? That’s how it is. That’s how the trick is done.”
Wilder will meet former WBO titleholder Joseph Parker 33-3 (23) of New Zealand at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 23, while Joshua will clash with Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin 26-1 (14) on the same card.
If they both win, they are expected to finally fight in Saudi Arabia in the first half of next year.
Despite pushing 40, Wilder says he still has many years left in the sport after taking up the gloves late.
“I’m young, I’m young, I just turned 38,” Wilder said. “But we gotta understand that I started very late. I started at 21. I haven’t had much damage on me. I’m still sexy, I still talk very well, I handle business very well. I’m still energetic. I think I’m a seasoned fighter right now.
“I used to think about all these other fighters, started when they were young, very young, and get to the point [where they burn out]. I look at some of my Olympic brothers, like damn they burnt out because they’ve been doing it for so long and you can’t get burnt out. But I’m not burned out because of how I started and where I am now.
“I’m seasoned right now and a lot of people will see it come December 23rd what I mean by that.”
