Anthony Joshua wasn’t interested Saturday night in comparing what would’ve happened had he fought Deontay Wilder when they were undefeated world champions as opposed to them meeting later this year.
The 33-year-old Joshua just wanted to focus on the fact that they could finally fight next. Both the former IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, emphasized following his seventh-round knockout of Robert Helenius that they want Wilder next and will try to close that deal with Saudi investors as soon as possible.
“I don’t know,” Joshua said during his post-fight press conference when asked what would’ve happened if he fought Wilder sooner. “That’s what I’m saying. It’s all the same sh!t. We’re gonna fight and what will be will be. I can’t look back and say what would be, what would’ve been. I’m just focused on fighting him now. That’s it. That’s what I’m focused on. No questions, I’m not trying to compare what would’ve been. It’s a weakness. I’m just focused on smashing [Wilder’s] head in now – and that’s it.”
England’s Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) brutally knocked out Finland’s Helenius (32-5, 21 KOs) with a single right hand in their DAZN main event Saturday night at O2 Arena in London. It took the British superstar nearly six more rounds than Wilder needed to decimate Helenius last October 15 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where Wilder knocked out “The Nordic Nightmare” late in the first round.
Though neither Joshua nor Wilder holds a heavyweight title, their showdown remains one of the biggest fights that can be made in boxing. The 37-year-old Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) hasn’t fought since the former WBC champion brutalized Helenius, whereas Joshua has won two fights in the past four months, both with respected American trainer Derrick James in his corner.
Joshua-Wilder would’ve been bigger had it been held at Wembley Stadium in London when the knockout artists were world champions, but Joshua stressed that it remains a marquee matchup.
“Any time is a good time to fight,” Joshua said. “It’s only a fight. It doesn’t matter who it is. It coulda been Wilder eight years ago or Wilder now, don’t matter. It is what it is at the end of the day. It’s only a fight. And boxing wins. So, roll on, really. There’s no like, no worry to me when it is. I’m just happy that we can get the fight going, and I think people appreciate that. You know, I’m doing my best to keep heavyweight boxing on the map.”
Hearn and Joshua dismissed speculation about a potential Plan B in the event negotiations don’t lead to a Joshua-Wilder fight finally coming together.
“We want that fight,” Hearn said. “That’s the fight we wanna make, so let’s focus on that.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.