Deontay Wilder accuses Anthony Joshua of ducking a $50M offer, but says the Brit is not the one to be blamed
Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has accused Anthony Joshua of ducking a $50 million offer to fight him.
Wilder and Joshua have long been the heavyweight division's two biggest superstars. In the past, an undisputed title fight between the two seemed inevitable. However, 'The Bronze Bomber' ended up losing his title to Tyson Fury, and 'AJ' lost his titles to Oleksandr Usyk.
Despite the two not holding any titles at the moment, a potential fight between them is still one of the biggest fights in the sport of boxing. Speaking about the same during an interview with Daily Mail, Deontay Wilder gave reasons as to why he has not fought Anthony Joshua yet.
While stating that Joshua refused a $50 million offer, Wilder said:
"He asked for $50million (£40m) and we provided that for him and he did not take it. And the only way you can disregard that is to make a mockery of it, try to make a joke of it, try to make it seem to the public that it's not real."
He added:
"Many times he wanted to fight, he wanted to accept it but his handlers didn't want it because Joshua is the money-maker for the company. And if he goes down, so does the business."
Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder are set to fight on the same card
Despite not fighting each other, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua are set to compete in arguably the biggest card of the year. On December 23, the two will fight on the Saudi Arabia-based boxing card being billed as 'Day of Reckoning'.
The card will be headlined by Anthony Joshua who takes on former heavyweight challenger Otto Wallin. In the co-main event, Deontay Wilder will take on former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
Moreover, Daniel Dubois will look to return to the winning zone when he takes on Jarrell Miller after losing to Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year. Other notable heavyweight bouts on the card include Frank Sanchez vs Junior Fa, Filip Hrgovic vs Mark De Mori, and Arslanbek Makhmudov vs Agit Kabayel.
Watch the recently concluded press conference for the event below: