Lennox Lewis believes that Anthony Joshua has avoided fighting Deontay Wilder for years. The former undisputed heavyweight champion expressed his views during a recent conversation with IFL TV.
Anthony Joshua’s boxing record is notable in today’s heavyweight division. He has defeated renowned fighters such as Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, and Dillian Whyte. Additionally, he has faced current top heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk.
However, Lewis feels that Joshua has missed an opportunity by not fighting Wilder. He complimented Tyson Fury for being more willing to take on challenging opponents.
“He needs that challenge. He’s up for challenges. When Deontay [Wilder] came over and challenged Anthony Joshua and Anthony Joshua didn’t take the challenge, [Fury] flew over to America and challenged Deontay. He’s always up for a challenge like that.”
The potential Joshua-Wilder fight has been discussed for years. In 2017, their respective teams met to discuss a unification bout, with Joshua holding the IBF and WBA belts and Wilder possessing the WBC title.
Joshua later acquired the WBO belt from Joseph Parker, reigniting talks. Reports emerged of multi-million dollar offers, but they were unable to finalize an agreement.
Complications arose when Joshua suffered a loss to Andy Ruiz Jr and pursued an immediate rematch. Meanwhile, Wilder began his trilogy with Tyson Fury, losing his WBC belt in the second encounter.
In 2022, both camps attempted to arrange the fight once more. The strategy involved each fighter having a couple of bouts first. Joshua won against Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou, but Wilder was defeated by Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
Currently, Joshua is coming off a loss to Daniel Dubois. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, suggests that AJ might either rematch Dubois or finally confront Tyson Fury.
The heavyweight boxing landscape keeps evolving, leaving fans wondering if they will ever witness Joshua and Wilder face off in the ring.
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