Anthony Joshua wants Deontay Wilder fight in April

WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua says he has set aside April 13 to fight Deontay Wilder for the WBC belt at Wembley.

Published : Dec 14, 2018 10:07 IST

Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is again keen to fight Deontay Wilder in April  to unify the heavyweight division.
Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is again keen to fight Deontay Wilder in April to unify the heavyweight division.
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Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is again keen to fight Deontay Wilder in April to unify the heavyweight division.

Anthony Joshua has set aside his April Wembley date to unify the heavyweight division against Deontay Wilder.

Negotiations between WBA, IBF and WBO champion Joshua (22-0) and WBC belt-holder Wilder (40-0-1) broke down earlier this year and the American instead faced Tyson Fury at the start of December, battling to a contentious draw.

The WBC has sanctioned a rematch between Wilder and Fury, but Joshua is again keen to do a deal and claims he could not be doing more to make it happen.

READ | Joshua is 'begging' for unification fight, claims Wilder

Joshua is booked in for an April 13 fight in London and took to ESPN on Thursday to make his case for the money-spinning bout to happen on that date, adding that his preference is to face Wilder, not Fury, as he aims to collect the final strap.

"I'm willing to fight Deontay Wilder, April 13 in London," Joshua said. "I don't know what more I have to do to get that message across.

"He's more interested in fighting Tyson Fury. Tyson Fury holds no world titles. I can't control what Deontay Wilder does, I can't control what Tyson Fury does, or what they say, but what I can do is control what I say and what I'm doing.

"I made sure, with the negotiations, I had booked the date in advance, I had set the venue in advance. I'm making my point clear in front of anyone watching. I'm willing to fight any of these guys - especially the champion, Deontay Wilder, April 13 at Wembley. What more can I say?

ALSO READ | Joshua is a chicken! Fury takes aim at AJ amid talk of Wilder rematch

"I'm not interested in Tyson Fury, because he's not the champion. That lineal status... When I was joining the heavyweight ranks, nobody told me about lineal champion. I knew about WBC, IBO, IBF, WBA and WBO. I've got my hands on four of them."

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