Anthony Joshua has revealed his belief that Deontay Wilder is NOT an elite level fighter, Sky Sports report.
With Wilder previously possessing the one belt which evaded AJ, there has previously been plenty of talk about the two fighters stepping into the ring with each other.
After Tyson Fury defeated Wilder to become WBC heavyweight champion, a fight with Wilder wouldn’t have been much use for AJ, who instead turned his sights onto Fury.
With Fury now being forced to shelve plans to take on Joshua in order to overcome a trilogy fight against Wilder, this is one bout that AJ and his team will be keeping a keen eye on.
READ MORE: ‘This is retaliation’ – Deontay Wilder vows to shock the world in Tyson Fury trilogy fight
The fighter himself doesn’t have any expectations of having to fight Wilder in order to unify the division, though. Speaking to Sky Sports, Joshua revealed that he really doesn’t rate the American.
“He isn’t an elite-level fighter, in my opinion. He’s good. It’s the heavyweights, so they always know one punch can change the course of a fight.”
“But I’ve never, ever seen in the heavyweight division a fighter going to war with just one weapon, which is what they say is his right hand.”
“When you get to the top level? Trust me, that don’t last anymore. That don’t work.”
“As we’ve seen now with certain fights of elite-level fighters, he struggles at the top level, and there’s a lot more of us waiting for that opportunity as well to kick his a**.”
Wilder is not a good boxer, that we know. It’s wrong to trivialise his right-hand, though. Though it may be his only dangerous tool, it’s as dangerous a tool as any possessed by any other heavyweight in the world.
Fury, while superior to Wilder in so many ways, will be wary that the it would only take one mistake for him to lose this third fight, in which case you imagine Joshua would be next up for Wilder.
Anthony Joshua’s bout with the WBC mandatory challenger is set to take place at a Premier League ground – read the full story here