With Anthony Joshua now having recaptured his major world titles against Andy Ruiz over the weekend, the talk is obviously shifting towards what could be next. Joshua will obviously have some mandatory situations to handle, but with Joshua’s win the conversation about a potential title unification with Deontay Wilder has been reignited.
Wilder, of course, saw Joshua’s performance on Saturday, was a little critical of it, and then doused some cold water on the though that he might ever unify with Joshua.
Starting with his thoughts on Ruiz-Joshua 2, Wilder said:
“Joshua did what he had to do to get the win,” Wilder told The Athletic. “He ran around the ring and was on his bike all day. Basically, he had [Wladimir] Klitschko in the camp and he was a lot like Klitschko: that jab-grab-hold method. That’s all he did tonight.
“He was so hesitant . . . Joshua’s mentality was to survive. The Klitschko method. You want to dominate guys, man.”
Wilder would continue by saying that he would’ve taken a completely different approach had he been in Joshua’s shoes, saying he’d want to clearly demonstrate that nobody is on his level by fighting more aggressively, in order to dominate. The WBC titleholder then said it’s clear that he’s at the top of the heavyweight pack.
“How can no one say I’m not the very best in the world now? I’ve given you what you pay for each and every time, especially when we’re talking about a heavyweight bout. Fans come to see knockouts. They come to see something dramatic — a body lying on the canvas, spread like it’s having birth. That’s what people want to see, and that’s my mentality.”
Finally, Wilder mentions that he doesn’t want fans to get their hopes up regarding a potential unification between Joshua and himself because he doesn’t believe that it will ever happen because Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn will want to steer clear of that matchup. Wilder says if Ruiz proved he can knock Joshua out, it’s abundantly clear what he could do to the British star if they ever met.