Deontay Wilder says he wasn’t surprised that Anthony Joshua lost to Oleksandr Usyk last September because Andy Ruiz Jr had already exposed him.
Wilder says Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) is taller than the 6’2″ Ruiz Jr., and he’s a tricky southpaw. Going into that fight, Joshua had only fought one southpaw during his career.
Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) didn’t have the experience of taking on a fighter of Usyk’s caliber, and it was evident from watching that he was over his head.
Without naming Joshua, Deontay says that a fighter must have the courage of a “lion” and be a “beast ” to do well in the heavyweight division.” Joshua didn’t show a lot of courage against Usyk, and he ended up giving away his IBF, WBA & WBO titles.
It was only after the loss that Joshua got fired up, showing the type of mindset he needed for the fight.
Wilder is not surprised Joshua lost to Usyk
“I wasn’t surprised because if you go back and look at Ruiz what he did and how he did it and you go back to this fight,” said Wilder to Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer on Anthony Joshua’s loss to Oleksandr Usyk on September 25th.
“I consider Usyk a lot better than Ruiz; he’s definitely taller,” said Wilder.
“The thing about it, he’s [Usyk] a southpaw, and to my knowledge, Joshua has only fought one southpaw. Southpaws can be tricky, and Usyk is a southpaw.
“He’s got good movement as a southpaw, and I do feel that certain heavyweights he’d have problems with. We’ve seen him [Usyk] come into fights have problems like with Chazz Witherspoon. We know Usyk has certain problems with certain heavyweights.
“In this division, you have to have the heart of a lion and the courage and the mindset of a beast. You got to believe you are the best,” Wilder said.
We will see if Joshua has what it takes to be a top-flight heavyweight when he faces Usyk in the rematch in early 2022. If Joshua loses the fight, Matchroom needs to decide on what to do with him.
Joshua can still make a lot of money fighting certain guys in the division in the UK. He doesn’t need to be a champion to continue bringing in the revenue to Matchroom.
Deontay says Joshua fight is possible in future
“I’m not going to say yes, and I’m not going to say no,” said Wilder when asked if he sees himself fighting Joshua in the future.
“I will say that he messed up on hundreds of millions of dollars with us, not wanting to fight me.
“They tried to change the story by saying it was me because I was the one that accepted your low fee with no percentage when you gave every other fighter a percentage.
“I was the longest-reigning champion. I understand why they [Joshua] didn’t want to fight me, just like I understood why nobody didn’t want to fight Luis Ortiz.
“Still to this day, no wants to fight Luis Ortiz that’s at the top. A lot of people call him out, but let’s see you get in there with that man,” said Wilder.
If Joshua loses to Usyk in the rematch, it’s unlikely that Wilder will ever get a chance to fight him. To rebuild him, Joshua would need to be brought back to the lower stages, being matched against fighters like Derek Chisora.
“Damn right,” said Wilder when asked if he still feels that Tyson Fury is a cheat. “You’ll never see Deontay cheating in this sport. I don’t believe in cheating; I just don’t.
“There are so many fighters in this sport that are doing it. Some fighters probably don’t want to do it, but they feel like the other opponents are doing it, and they want a fair shake,” said Wilder.
Deontay will be challenging WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury this weekend on October 9th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. If Wilder loses to Fury, his career could be over with.
My compliments to Deontay Wilder for working so hard to make a rematch under circumstances that were excluding him from equal protection within the law. Deontay Wilder was discriminated against in both fight.
As time passes it is becoming clear that it’s possible Deontay Wilder is the best heavyweight champion that ever lived without question.
Anthony Joshua did avoid Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz. Anthony Joshua had a late start too and he’s smart and talented and gifted, so it’s possible Anthony Joshua could overcome this setback if he wants to. Ya know he doesn’t need the money, so it’s a matter of legacy.
Aj offered wilder money wilder refused wilder is a bum who has not been in the ring with any top heavyweights only fury and looked what happened wilder is a bum