Overly-scrutinized British former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua appears to draw controversy with every breath he takes, and recent statements have again put him in the crossfire as Joshua reveals he is angling for a potential title shot rather than outright facing Deontay Wilder.
Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KO’s), who is set to fight on December 23 against Swedish heavyweight contender Otto Wallin (26-1, 24 KO’s), reiterated he remains focused on his future opponent in an interview with Seconds Out.
“I got to win. That’s why I’m focused on Otto Wallin.” Joshua responded when asked about the rumor mills suggesting he will fight American former WBC champion Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KO’s) in the near future.
Joshua also stated he would prefer a title shot over fighting Wilder, which prompted the interviewer to state his belief that a fight with Wilder was the preference of boxing fans as it has been heavily anticipated for roughly seven years since the two became world heavyweight champions.
Anthony Joshua proceeded to give an unsatisfying answer when confronted with the magnitude of a Wilder fight versus any other fight in boxing barring a Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KO’s) fight.
“Of course I’ll fight Wilder, 100%, but you know them questions what they do on Tik Tok, heavyweight championship or another fighter? If you put Fury, Wilder, Usyk, or the championship, I’ll say the championship,” Joshua stated.
“I just value the championship way more than anyone because you’ve never heard someone say, ‘oh this person fought that person’, but you do hear they were a five-time heavyweight champion of the world. That lives, and that brings more money, more business, more than anything.“
Joshua’s statements will undoubtedly be considered controversial, not merely because he did not appear to immediately indicate his interest in fighting Wilder but he also notably and literally threw all his previous world titles away in the ring during the aftermath of his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KO’s) during their second fight in August 2022.
Despite his actions in throwing away his belts, which was followed by an emotional rant that was heavily criticized, Joshua now appears to value these same titles over a legacy fight with Deontay Wilder.
Knowing that Joshua’s words would undoubtedly spark controversy, the interviewer continued to explain that Joshua’s statements would only breed more contempt as he would appear to be “ducking” Wilder, though Joshua firmly denied he was avoiding the American knockout artist.
“What I’m saying, as I said, is that I would fight Wilder, I’ll fight Fury, I’ll fight Usyk, but if you put it on a board where it was one or the other, I’ll go for the heavyweight championship,” Joshua said.
“If that’s where my career is going to end, I may have ducked, but fighting for the championship doesn’t mean that you’re never going to fight again. You got to defend your titles and all that type of stuff. The titles will always mean more.
“They mean more than me, they mean more than Mike Tyson, they mean more than anything. They’re the pinnacle of the sport. It’s the heavyweight championship of the world. Like people are crazy to question why anyone would not desire to become the heavyweight champion of the world.“
Joshua appears to be prioritizing becoming a world heavyweight champion, which would possibly land him a fight against another top heavyweight, whether that be the winner of Fury vs. Usyk or Wilder himself.
However, because of his actions in the ring following his second fight against Usyk, Joshua’s statements appear hypocritical and will be heavily criticized as a result.
Joshua’s point of preferring fighting for world titles does align with what a professional boxer has entered the sport for. While money is an obvious incentive, boxing is still a sport, and therefore competitiveness should be valued, which would naturally lead a fighter to fight for world titles.
While Anthony Joshua is not exactly wrong with his point, the Wilder fight appears to be more important to the public given the former world champion status of both fighters and the undisputed match that they could have fought in had they stepped in the ring together several years ago. Fans seem to be more interested in this fight occurring even with both fighters being beltless, and therefore they are still expected to face each other for what would be considered a mega-fight in boxing.
In the grand scheme of things, Joshua’s future seems intertwined with Wilder’s regardless of what he further accomplishes in the sport, and “ducking” allegations will remain as long as he does not fight the American “Bronze Bomber.”
Currently, rumors seem to indicate that the two will face each other in the ring next year in March, provided they make it past their December 23 opponents, with an announcement of their fight expected to be made if they emerge victorious in their respective matches.
