Where’s Anthony Joshua at?
That’s the question Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder want answered following their wild fight on Saturday night that ended in a controversial split decision draw. Joshua holds the IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight titles, while Wilder holds the remaining WBC belt. Fans want to see a unified champion, but Joshua’s team seems happy to rake in money fighting less dangerous opposition … at least until Wilder proves he can sell enough pay-per-views to make the risk worthwhile.
There’s no numbers on the Wilder vs. Fury PPV out yet, but the sports world certainly took notice when the two went to war on Saturday night (watch the video highlights here). And while Fury managed to outbox Wilder for the majority of the match, Wilder dropped Fury in the 9th and then again in the 12th. By the end, no one was thinking of Joshua any more. It was all Wilder vs. Fury 2.
That didn’t stop Fury from taking a shot at Joshua during his in-ring speech for not taking the Wilder fight.
“There’s another certain heavyweight out there,” he said before starting to cluck like a chicken. “Chicken! Chicken! Joshua, where are you? Where are you, AJ?”
“I 100% agree with that,” Wilder said. “We’re the two best in the world, and we proved it tonight, you know. You put two warriors in the ring, that want to put on a show for the fans, you get a great fight.”
During the post-fight press conference, Tyson Fury expanded on his comment and declared Joshua wouldn’t stand a chance against Wilder.
”It’s no secret that Anthony Joshua did not want this fight,” Fury said. “He didn’t want it for a reason: because Deontay Wilder is the most fiercest puncher in boxing history, in heavyweight division history. And I saw that tonight and I felt it. No wonder AJ didn’t want no part of that right hand. He can’t move like me, he would have been nailed.”
”Wilder came over to the UK and showed up,” he continued. “Called out Joshua, he got offered a lot of money. A lot of money. Money that could change countries, probably. Make broke countries rich, he turned it down. And I come in here, I said to Deontay, I’m sorry for what happened here, but you offer me the fight, I will not turn it down, I promise you. I am the fighting man and I’ll step up and represent my country, and tonight I did that.”
”I’d love to fight Joshua, I’ve been trying to fight him,” Wilder said when it was his turn on the podium. “Everyone knows that, it’s no secret. But those guys got other plans, and we’ll see what happens. But I’ll be satisfied either or, to be honest. Me and Fury put on a hell of a performance tonight. I’d love to go back into a rematch or I’d love to fight Joshua, so I think I’m in a win-win situation. I know what the fans want, and I’m with the fans too, you know?”
Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel reminded the press that he had offered Anthony Joshua $50 million to fight Wilder.
”That was already done, and Joshua declined it,” Finkel said. “That was an offer to make a fight, the offers they made Deontay were to not make a fight. So Deontay will fight anyone, and he knows, and I know: the next time he fights Fury, he’ll be better. I don’t know if Fury can be better.”