Wilder to Joshua: Come, I ‘ll beat you silly in 2018

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has continued to boast of his readiness to beat Anthony Joshua in his “safe haven” of Great Britain.

Wilder, 32, defended his belt against Bermane Stiverne on Saturday, a week after Joshua retained the WBA and IBF crowns against Carlos Takam in Cardiff.
In 2015, Stiverne became the only man to take Wilder 12 rounds, but succumbed within just one at New York’s Barclays Center on Saturday.

The win took Wilder’s unbeaten record to 38 knockouts from 39 bouts in a professional career which began after he claimed a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Hearn argues that Wilder’s relatively insignificant profile in Britain would require him to be realistic in any negotiations for a Joshua fight and has called on him to first face Dillian Whyte in London in February.

Wilder conceded that he likes “what Joshua stands for” and believes a bout with the unbeaten Briton would be the biggest fight in boxing history.

Any bout would unify the WBC, WBA and IBF titles, with the only other major honour in the division belonging to WBO champion Joseph Parker. No fighter has ever held all four since the WBO was founded in 1988.
Wilder also hopes Tyson Fury can add a further dimension to the division if his boxing licence is reinstated.

Following his 2015 win over Wladimir Klitschko, Fury held three of the belts – missing only the WBC title – but relinquished them all in the months after his triumph.

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