20 October 2020

Anthony Joshua ‘can’t wait’ for Deontay Wilder to break silence on why Tyson Fury trilogy is not happening

World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has questioned why rival Deontay Wilder has gone silent since his defeat to Tyson Fury back in February.

Wilder was stopped inside seven rounds by the Gypsy King as he was beaten for the first time in 44 fights, relinquishing his WBC title in the process.

Wilder was dropped twice by Fury in a one-sided beatdown earlier this year (PA)

Since then, the American has said very little about his disappointing performance despite having the contractual right to a rematch.

But earlier this month, Fury and his promotional team announced the contract had expired and they were moving on to face someone else back in the UK instead.

And Joshua, who knows what it is like to suffer defeat at the highest level following his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr last year, feels Wilder will now go one of two ways.

"I don't know, so I can't speak on everyone's situation, but just from my humble opinion, after a loss, things change. You distance yourself. The world is cruel. You've got to have a thick skin," he told Sky Sports.

"Either he's putting together a master plan - he's in a lab right now, with his science glasses on, studying Fury's every move. Either he's doing that, or he's sitting at the edge of that lake, with his head in his hands and thinking, 'What's going on?'

"One minute you're on top of the world, and the next minute you're not. That's the name of the game we're in."

A number of reasons behind Wilder’s defeat came out in the wake of his fight with Fury back in February such as the weight of his ring walk costume, a baseless theory about Fury’s gloves being tampered with and a bicep injury.

And Joshua is as intrigued as anyone else to find out exactly what Wilder himself puts the loss down to.

"It's interesting as to say, 'Why he hasn't spoken?' But when he does speak, we'll soon find out. For me to make speculation as to why he hasn't spoken, I can't because only he knows," he added.

"But I can't wait for him to address the reason why the fight isn't going to happen at the end of the year. What happened in the first fight? Why he lost.

"Was it the costume, was it the glove situation? It would be really good to hear the reasons as to why and even better, I hope he does come back, because he's a great asset to the heavyweight division, and like the Dillian situation, I would like to understand how he found the strength to pull himself up."

Joshua is gearing up to defend his three versions of the world heavyweight title against Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev at The 02 Arena on December 12.

It is thought that if AJ comes through Pulev and Fury beats his next opponent that the two will face off in an undisputed clash in the first half of 2021.

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