Deontay Wilder is ready to sit down face-to-face with rival Anthony Joshua to negotiate their long-awaited heavyweight showdown.
Back when Wilder and Joshua were in possession of all the major heavyweight belts, negotiations for a unification bout between the two fell through. However, recent rumors suggest that the fight could materialize in 2024, with Saudi Arabia being floated as a potential location.
In a recent interview with Blue Blood Sports TV, Deontay Wilder expressed his willingness to fly to England and personally meet 'AJ' to finalize the fight negotiations:
"I just don’t know what’s up with Joshua bro. Maybe I’m gonna have to call him or something, I’m gonna have to England, sit down with him on some real man sh*t."
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He added:
"Now we’re in this situation, and what do we do about it? Joshua, me and you is the biggest fight in the world, bro. What are you doing? How many people are you listening to? I really want to talk to the dude. I cannot hear that he needs more time."
Check out Wilder's comments below (from 1:01:28):
After his loss to Tyson Fury in October 2021, Deontay Wilder has fought just once, scoring a knockout win over Robert Helenius back in October 2022.
Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua has kept a busier schedule. He rebounded from his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk with a decision victory over Jermaine Franklin back in April. This was followed by his seventh-round knockout victory over Helenius in August.
Deontay Wilder's England trip proposal: How are fans reacting?
Fans reacted to Deontay Wilder's willingness to fly to England to finalize the fight negotiations with Anthony Joshua with various responses.
One fan wrote:
"Does Wilder not realise AJ is in Texas for the majority of his time rn? 😂"
Another wrote:
"Arguably a bigger fight than Fury vs Usyk 🤷♂️"
Check out some more reactions below:
"Why are most of the big names ducking other big names? Make the fights and get paid!! 💰💰"
"If this happens it’s easily one of the best fights of the year"
"He’s starting to get desperate now. Fight should have been made 5 years ago at least"
"😂😂😂… Didn’t Joshua say he’d call the police last time Wilder wanted to meet him face to face?"