American boxer Deontay Wilder has accused Anthony Joshua of turning down his $50 million ($40 million) offer to fight him.
Wilder, a former heavyweight champion, is scheduled to fight on the card on December 23 in Saudi Arabia. Englishman Joshua will fight Otto Wallin, while Wilder will face Joseph Parker.
Wilder was asked by Mail Sport why he won’t fight Joshua next, “He asked for $50 million (£40 million) and we offered it to him and he didn’t take it.
And the only way to ignore it is to ridicule it, try to make a joke of it, try to make the public think it’s not real,” he added.
Wilder also blamed Joshua’s promoter, Matchroom, for the fact that the match has not yet been set. That’s deflection.
It’s an “ah-ha” moment. They have set aside $50 million. So Joshua doesn’t speak much for himself, and if he does, he always slips up and says something against his people. And they have to clean up after him.
He’s a fighter. I’ve been waiting for more than six years (for the match to happen). But there comes a time when you think, ‘Enough is enough.
Many times he wanted the fight and wanted to accept it, but his handlers didn’t want it because Joshua is the company’s breadwinner. ‘If he goes down, it’s going to be bad for business,’ he said.
On the other hand, some believe that if he gets through the December match unscathed, the fight with Joshua will be carried over to next year.