Deontay Wilder did not include Anthony Joshua in his post-fight call-out list after stopping Robert Helenius within one round on his comeback.
The 'Bronze Bomber' made his heavyweight return for the first time since losing his trilogy bout with Tyson Fury last year, when he faced contender Robert Helenius at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Wilder showed once again why his power is the most feared in the division after detonating a huge right hand to close the show in the opening round, with just seconds to go until the second stanza.
There are a whole host of fights that have been talked up by the American prior to his latest win including a shot at long-term rival Joshua, who recently lost his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk. However following his latest one-punch KO, he instead elected to put forward the name of Joshua's recent conqueror alongside Andy Ruiz Jr as potential opponents next.
"I've been hearing rumours about [Oleksandr] Usyk but I see he's not here," Wilder said after his impressive display upon his ring return. Most of the times guys say they want me and they come to shows of mine, they see knockouts like that they turn the corner. I'm ready for whoever, whether it's Andy Ruiz or Usyk, bring it on.
" Deontay Wilder is back, the excitement in the division is back. There is no heavyweight division without Deontay Wilder, that's fact!" Wilder also failed to mention Joshua at the post-fight press conference, with it remaining unlikely the pair will settle the scores any time soon.
The American heavyweight has retained his status as the No.1 ranked WBC contender after his win, which could see him enforce a shot at former rival Fury's belt next year providing he continues to pick up wins. A likely counterpart in his next fight could be Ruiz Jr who is currently rising through the rankings and is eyeing a maiden shot at Fury's belt himself.
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Wilder had spoken about his ideal plan to step in the ring against Joshua, with the pair having failed to touch gloves when they held all the title belts between them several years ago. The pair entered negotiations for an undisputed fight back in 2018, but Joshua rejected a guaranteed offer of $50 million for the clash which saw talks stall and a meeting fail to materialise.
The 36-year-old had suggested that a fight could be rekindled before his recent outing but has claimed he is unsure if Joshua's team is serious about any offer. "Everybody picked me to beat Joshua and that’s the reason why they [Joshua's team] didn’t want to make the fight before," Wilder said during an interview with ES News.
"That was the reason why they took me on a six-month rollercoaster. Fast forward years and now we’re seeing it [the Joshua team wanting to make the fight with Wilder]. We’ll see [if it happens] because we ain’t bull*****ing. I hate talking about those guys because they put a bad taste in my mouth."
