ACCORDING to Deontay Wilder, if Anthony Joshua had his way, he wouldโve accepted the $50 million guarantee Wilder offered him for a fall fight in the United States.
Instead, the biggest heavyweight title bout since Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson is officially dead. On Wednesday, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn announced that Joshua is set to defend his WBA, IBF and WBO world titles versus WBA mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin, either on September 22ย or 29. Hearn says the fight will likely be shown on DAZN, a sport streaming service which will launch in the United States in September.
โJoshuaโs team didnโt want to fight me from the start,โ WBC champion Wilder told Boxing News on Thursday. โJoshua himself stated that it may take next year or the year after that. Heโs not confident in himself and his team isnโt confident in him either. Eddie said he would avoid me until Joshuaโs trainer thinks heโs ready. They donโt think heโs ready and the boy is never going to be ready.โ
โWe were always the ones reaching out to them and keeping the communication,โ he continued. โWeโre moving on now. My goal is to set a record: 51-0. Iโm looking to clean out the heavyweight division.โ
The Joshua-Povetkin announcement closes the door on negotiations that lasted nearly four months. It began on April 10, when Hearn offered Wilder a $12.5 million flat fee to fight Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), 28, in the United Kingdom.
Wilder, (40-0, 39 KOs), 32, balked at the offer. On April 12, Joshua told Sky Sports that Wilderโs camp should, โGive me $50 million dollars up front and I swear I’ll take that fight tomorrow.โ
But that didnโt happen.
On April 25, Wilder’s team countered with a US bout that included a $50 million guarantee for Joshua against 50% of the event revenue. Hearn asked for proof of sources of funds. As did Joshua, says Wilder.
โJoshua and I had conversations on the side,โ he revealed. โHe asked me to have my team email him certain things about the money. I said, โSure, no problem.โ When we gave him the offer, he was super excited. He even took everyone on his team out to eat.
โWe thought Joshua was more in control than he was. But we found out that he wasnโt. Itโs sad to see him allow these people to do what theyโre doing. He canโt do nothing that he wants to do. As you can see, they stopped him from doing any interviews about me because he would say one thing and they would say another. Joshua really wanted the fight for the $50 million. Next thing we know, theyโre talking about fighting in his countryโfor less money.โ
Wilder is referring to a $15 million flat fee UK fight Hearn proffered near the end of May. Despite his disappointment, Wilder accepted and announced it on his Instagram on June 11. On Monday, June 18, Hearn sent over a contract.
โIn the contract he sent, there was no date, no venue,โ said Wilder. โIf I beat Joshua, they get a rematch, but if they beat me, itโs up to him. Just a bunch of bogus things.โ
An industry source with knowledge of negotiations verified Wilderโs claims. โA lot of aspects in the deal were basically non-starters. There was no venue and no date and the rest leaned heavily in their favour. Joshua was definitely interested in Wilderโs offer. Who wouldnโt be? It was a $50 million base plus upside, so it was a huge win-win for him. Iโm not sure why it didnโt get off the ground, but he was very interested.โ
โI didnโt say I donโt believe the moneyโs not there,โ Hearn said in a June 4 interview with FightHype.com. โBut we got an email from Deontay Wilder offering us $50 million. I like Deontay Wilder but he ainโt got $50 millionโฆ Anthony feels like after everything heโs built [in the UK], and the history that weโve made here, that if he makes $10 or $15 million less here, so be it.โ
Wilder finds that thinking hard to accept.
โWhen your career is over with,โ he said, โAre those same people going to help with your bills? A promoter, a manager, those are jobs you can do your whole life. But boxers canโt do this forever. Theyโre not looking out for his best interests. He wanted that $50 million. But he ainโt in control. And heโs scared as well too. He canโt speak up.โโ
Wilder wonโt be having Hearn over for tea and crumpets anytime soon either.
โEddie Hearn is a 37-year-old, childish boy,โ he says. โHe wants to be famous and have this popularity as a promoter. This is a game to him. But weโre not about playing games. He contradicted himself many times. I sacrificed everything and took every offer that was thrown at me. But every time we reached a goal, they moved the goalpost.โ
Hearn has now proposed a two-fight, $20 million deal to Wilder. It includes a $5 million payday for a September/October title defense in America on DAZN, followed by the $15 million UK fight versus Joshua in April.
โF*** Hearn,โ said Wilder, regarding the DAZN offer. โWeโre done with that. Only thing we needed was the belt to unify. The $50 million is off the table. That flat fee I was going to take โฆ all that is off the table. If they ever come back to us, itโs going to be 50-50 straight down the line. Iโm just glad the blindfolds are off the peopleโs eyes. Even casual fans can see what happened. For those that canโt see, the ones I call Eddieโs zombies, they can be a fool behind him.โ
Wilder is expected to return to the ring this fall, likely on Showtime. Mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale has been mentioned as a possible opponent. The two had an altercation at a hotel in February 2017.
โRight now, weโre not looking at Breazeale,โ Wilder said. โHeโs a mandatory so eventually heโs going to get whatโs coming to him. There is definitely history there and I canโt wait to fight him. Thereโs a possibility he could be next, or a possibility he may not be. I advise him to just stay ready and get in the best shape of his life.โ
Former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is another potential future opponent. On Wednesday, the Englishman posted a video on his Instagram account declaring, โSend me the contract and Iโll show you how long it takes to sign it. Wallop. Ten seconds. Done.โ
โAnthony Joshua said the same thing,โ Wilder cracked. โHe swore heโd sign the contract tomorrow. So, we done heard these things before. But I have big faith in Tyson Fury as a man of his word. At this point in his career, heโs looking to regain some type of title. In my eyes, heโs still a champion because he hasnโt been beaten. He only beat himself. That would be a great fight between me and him but he should be careful what he asks for.
โIโm not going anywhere in this heavyweight division. Iโm going to be around for a very long time, until I decide to retire. I told Joshua youโre going to regret not taking this money. I think he knows that. Just wait and see what I have in store. Theyโre going to come crawling back to us. Mark my words.โ