Deontay Wilder is preparing for a must-win fight against Derek Chisora but ‘The Bronze Bomber’ says he ‘has to cross paths’ with Anthony Joshua before he hangs up the gloves.
Wilder ruled as the WBC heavyweight world champion for over five years, making 10 defences of the coveted crown before losing his undefeated record in a legendary rematch with Tyson Fury in Las Vegas.
That defeat kickstarted a devastating run for the American, who has lost four of his last six professional contests but remains linked to a shot at Oleksandr Usyk and the unified heavyweight world titles.
Although, to earn that fight, Wilder must prove that he is still capable of competing at the elite level by spoiling Derek Chisora’s farewell fight in less than two months’ time.
Yet, despite the scheduled fight date and a looming challenge against Usyk, Wilder told Sun Sport that he still believes a long-awaited showdown with Joshua will finally happen.
“I don’t have no regrets [regarding negotiations] at all. Of course, it is a situation where you want to give the fight fans, or just the fans in general, what they want to see, but it takes two to tango and it is what it is.
“I do know one thing, he is still in the business. I heard that he had retired, I don’t know how long that would be but if he comes back and he is still in the business and I am still in the business [we can still fight].
“The heavyweight division is very small, we can all fight each other three, four, five times because of how small our division is.
“If he is still in it and I am still in it, then of course [we can fight], why not? We have to cross paths at some point in time.
Wilder-Chisora takes place at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday, April 4, with Viddal Riley expected to face EBU European cruiserweight champion Mateusz Masternak in the co-main event of the bill.
