Deontay Wilder has told Anthony Joshua he is ‘ready to fight’ ahead of their highly anticipated heavyweight clash.
Wilder has spent over a year out of the ring as his last fight was a first-round KO victory against Robert Helenius in New York last October.
Joshua, meanwhile, has been tipped to fight Wilder next having also recorded a KO win over Helenius at the O2 Arena in August.
Wilder’s trainer, Malik Scott, has previously expressed his frustration over the delays in getting a deal to fight Joshua across the line.
But Wilder is adamant that he is ‘doing everything in my power’ to secure the fight with Joshua.
‘I promise you guys I’ll be back very soon. It’s just sometimes, the business of boxing has to run its course and do what it does. I’ll be back very soon,’ Wilder said in a video on Instagram.
‘Another thing I want to address is a fight that everyone is looking forward to, and hopefully, it happens. I’m doing everything in my power to make it happen, and I’m referring to the Anthony Joshua fight.
‘Anthony, you’re hearing it from the horse’s mouth himself. I’m here, I’m ready to go. I heard some of the things about what your promoter [Eddie Hearn] said about my last fight [against Helenius], which only lasted a short period of time and I haven’t fought in a year, and he doesn’t know if I want to fight or not.
‘I’m letting you know right now, right here, that I’m ready to fight and ready to get in that ring. Let’s make this the best time of our lives. This will be a major disaster if we never get in the ring and put our stamp down in history.
‘When people think about classic and great fights, I want them to think about us as well. To be able to do that, we got to get in the ring, and that’s what it’s all about. The silliest thing I’ve heard is people say that you’re not ready, and that’s the silliest thing.’
‘I don’t believe that. I believe you’re ready. I hope you’re ready, I think you’re ready. Let’s make this happen, me and you. Let’s make the history happen.’
Speaking last weekend, Joshua indicated that he would be open to fighting on the same night as Tyson Fury’s heavyweight title bout against Oleksandr Usyk.
‘They want to put Usyk vs Fury and Joshua vs Wilder on the same night. When Fury gets through Ngannou it is going to be late October going into November so I doubt he will prepare for Usyk and then fight in December. It is too short,’ Joshua said.
‘So, the next window will be in March or April and that is when the undisputed fight will happen. What we are being told is that they want to make it a mega-card.’
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