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Joshua does not have confidence to fight me —Wilder

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Joshua does not have confidence to fight me —Wilder

World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion, America’s Deontay Wilder has called Anthony Joshua a ‘cash cow’ and thinks the Nigerian-born fighter does not have the confidence to fight him.

Wilder, who will be putting his WBC belt on the line against Ortiz in New York this Saturday, says Joshua, who faces Joseph Parker of New Zealand, in a unification bout on 31 March, is being ‘milked’ by his promoter Eddie Hearn

Joshua holds the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles and will fight Parker – the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) champion.

Wilder has been calling for a fight with Joshua, but nothing has been agreed yet between the parties.

He told BBC on Thursday, “I don’t believe Hearn wants this fight at all.

“Joshua is like a cow, Eddie Hearn is milking him for every dollar. There have been no negotiations at all, no deal has been offered. But the world wants to see me and Joshua get in the ring.

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“I don’t think Joshua has enough confidence in himself to fight me. It’s all on them. If he really wants it, he can make it happen.

“I see the Parker v Joshua fight going into the later rounds. I like Parker’s movement.

“With Joshua’s big frame and being muscular, that’s OK to look the part but can he get out of the way of Parker’s punches and maintain his stamina holding all that?”

However, Hearn has responded to Wilder, saying: “We’re ready on this side of the pond.

“It’s the biggest fight in world boxing… and I always make the biggest fights possible.

“Deontay Wilder has tried to sell his whole fight on Anthony Joshua – he should worry about Luis Ortiz.

“Anthony will fight anyone and, as we have stated a thousand times, he wants to be the undisputed champion.

“If he beats Joseph Parker then he just needs one more belt. Wilder doesn’t have a promoter so is on a one-man salesman mission – get your head on Ortiz, let us deal with Parker then join us back in the real world and this fight will get made very quickly.”

 

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