Deontay Wilder has revealed that talks over a fight against Anthony Joshua are progressing well, despite the delay of a Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk clash. Wilder echoed recent comments made by Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn, telling ESNews: "That’s looking very promising, very promising."
He added: "I also got other offers as well from overseas so nobody needs to worry about who I fight because my life is very, very great, understand that. Don’t worry about who I fight because I could fight anybody in the world, they would love to see me come to their country, and love to see me in the States."
The eagerly awaited heavyweight showdown between Wilder and Joshua is still set to take place in Saudi Arabia at the end of the year. The original plan was for the event to feature a blockbuster double-header, with Fury taking on Usyk but the undisputed clash between the pair has been delayed once again, leaving Wilder and Joshua's fight as the sole focus, reports the Mirror.
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Meanwhile, Wilder has claimed that Andy Ruiz Jr's equal purse split demand is getting in the way of their fight being made, saying: "Andy that ain’t so much the case so they got to really think about this situation they are in. They are talking about a 50-50, you ain’t nobody compared to me bro, you were only a champion for a very short time so stop that.”
Ruiz Jr hasn't fought since winning a decision against Luis Ortiz, whilst Wilder made his return after a two-year absence to knockout Robert Helenius last October. Wilder was in attendance for Ruiz's last fight as the Mexican-American called for promoter Al Haymon to make the fight happen.
A 'lucrative' proposal from Wilder's team has since been criticised by Ruiz Jr's father, who told Izquierdazo: "They want Andy to accept a ridiculous amount. Andy is not just any boxer, he was the first Mexican heavyweight world champion in history. Wilder wants to offer 30 per cent. Andy and Wilder are going to fill the stadium, they are going to sell pay-per-views like crazy because everyone wants to see that fight, so it is not a fight that they are offering just enough."
Wilder and Ruiz Jr's fight could end up being for the WBC belt depending on the next move of current titleholder Fury. 'The Gypsy King' has been struggling to book a fight since knocking out Derek Chisora in their trilogy fight last December, but he could be set for a "game-changing" fight which many fans predict will be against ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
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