Deontay Wilder challenges Anthony Joshua after split-decision win over British heavyweight Derek Chisora
American boxer Deontay Wilder has challenged two-time Nigerian-British boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to a fight following his win over Derek Chisora on Saturday.
Both Wilder and Chisora traded heavy punches for 12 rounds in an explosive bout at the O2 Arena in London, with the American emerging winner by split decision.
Shortly after the victory, Wilder fist-bumped Joshua while telling him to “let’s do it” before following it up saying “he’s scared” as he walked away.
“It wasn’t a few words, I dapped it up with him and I said: ‘Now let’s get it on.’ I’m ready for whoever, long as these guys are in the heavyweight division, I am here.
“You can call me Mr Clean, because I want to clean up the whole division. The division is nothing without Deontay Wilder,” the 40-year-old later said while addressing the exchange with Joshua.
Joshua has been mostly out of the spotlight since the December 29 car crash that killed his friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele in Ogun State, Nigeria. He sustained minor injuries during the incident.
The 36-year-old recently trained with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in Ukraine, with the Ukrainian stating that Joshua could become an undisputed champion by 2027.
“I think [he’ll] be better because physically [he’s] good, mentally I think [he’s] good because we speak every day, training two times,” Usyk said.
“I know Anthony is a champion. Yes now he doesn’t have belts but it doesn’t matter. AJ it’s possible, you undisputed champion in 2027. I know mistake Anthony [made]. We work about this and delete mistake. Anthony delete mistake. It’s my partner. My brother.”
Speaking before the Saturday’s fight, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told DAZN that the team’s target was a fight against Tyson Fury but did not rule out a possible Wilder face off.
“To be honest, we’ve been very focused about making the Tyson Fury fight. But AJ did mention to me yesterday that he’s to support Derek, but if Deontay Wilder wins in style tonight (Saturday), it opens a big fight with Anthony Joshua as well,” Mr Hearn said.
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