Deontay Wilder has said he “can’t wait” to face Anthony Joshua in a unifying world heavyweight title fight.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Wilder confirmed that he had turned down a lucrative $100m+ three-fight deal from streaming service DAZN – to which Joshua is attached – and would face his mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale on rival broadcaster Showtime.
The move adds another blockade to the convoluted heavyweight saga which sees Wilder, Joshua and Tyson Fury all attached to separate US networks.
However, the undefeated 33-year-old knockout artist attempted to ease concerns by claiming that with “cooperation” between his and Joshua’s camp, an agreement to see the two champions battle for all the recognised belts could be reached in the near future.
“We need to see one champion, one face, one name. It takes a lot of people and a lot of cooperation to make that happen,” Wilder said.
Told that Joshua was eager to take him on, Wilder said: “Oh man, I can’t wait for him either.
“I feel the same way about him (that I do Breazeale).
“Four months of negotiations and they knew they didn’t want the fight. Stop. What more do I have to do for people?
“I’ve tried to show people and I’ll continue to still prove that I am the best. I’ll continue to give people the fights that they want to see. But they got to be in cooperation with my team as well too.
“Because fighters, I understand, they have choices. They have a choice to make whether to get in there with the man, the myth and the legend.
“I am that man that can knock you out, at any given time, any given round, any given minute, any given second.”
