DEONTAY WILDER, the WBC heavyweight champion, has laid out his plan for the future of the heavyweight division. With Joseph Parker now lacking an opponent, after Hughie Fury pulled out of their May WBO title fight, Wilder has called out the New Zealander, wanting to fight him in July.
“I want to go get Parker,” Wilder declared. “What would be better than me and Parker fighting for the unification and then after that you have another unification [against the Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko WBA and IBF unification victor]. Winner takes all.”
“It’s going to be up to Parker,” he continued. “I’m trying to give fans what they want. They want one champion. I’m trying to make that happen.
“I’m looking forward to unifying this division. And bringing it back to America.”
He will be an interested observer of the Joshua-Klitschko clash this Saturday at Wembley stadium. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I love this fight. I love it for the sport of boxing. The fans seem to be well in tune with it. I think it’s a super fight for the heavyweight division.”
He hopes to fight the winner eventually, ideally this year. “Hopefully. I’m not too confident. There’s a lot of people that’s involved in this,” he said. “It’s not just me. But that’s what the fans want.”
“There’s a lot of flaws Joshua has. Joshua’s still young in the game,” he warned. “[Klitschko] is going to teach Joshua a lot of things in the ring too.”
Wilder has been unimpressive in his recent fights but believes he is the man to take over the division. “I’m very confident I am the best in the division, I’m very confident that I will unify this division,” he said. “I’m waiting for my moment.”
“People don’t understand my style because I have such a weird style and I love it,” he insisted. “Once whoever unifies the division they’re going to bring another era to the heavyweight division.”
He expects Klitschko to win at Wembley stadium on Saturday, saying, “My heart is for Joshua but my mind is for Klitschko.”
Wilder wants Joshua to win because he sees that as a future mega-fight. And Deontay is willing to come to England to make it happen. “I’ll go anywhere in the world. That’s what I want to build my legacy behind. [To fight Alexander Povetkin] I was going to Russia. I was going to whip him. I was ready.
“I’m like a household name over there [in the UK.] I love the have fans there and they have strong support.”
But his message to Joshua was “you’ve got to make it in America, that’s the bottom line”.
“Come to America if he really wants to build his popularity,” he said. “It’s harder here in America to make it.
“Come and see the man who’s running it over here.”
