Anthony Joshua Feels Fighting Deontay Wilder Is ‘More Realistic’

Anthony Joshua knows there are two potentially massive fights for him at heavyweight, but he believes only one of those bouts is a realistic option.

Joshua is hoping to get back on track after dropping two straight outings against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. In the process, Joshua lost the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles. He’ll be sharing the ring with Jermaine Franklin on April 1. Ahead of the clash, Joshua spoke to Dan Rafael on the Big Fight Weekend podcast. The former unified world champion told Rafael that he wants to string together a knockout streak, starting with Franklin.

“I’ll be real, like, and this is no disrespect to Franklin, you’re asking me, yeah? So, this has nothing to do with Franklin. I feel I need to knock the next X amount of opponents out. That’s my goal, and also to be a well-rounded fighter. So, you have your attack and you have your defense. So, I need to also display my attributes when it comes to the attacking, keeping a good shape, and then also defending the shots that are coming back. My goal is to finish him, well, finish whoever’s in the ring with me before the 12th round,” Joshua said.

Joshua admitted that he can’t shake the feeling that he still keeps having to prove himself despite his accolades. He said International Boxing Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather  had to go through a similar situation before he decided to lean more into his “Money” persona.

Speaking of money, Joshua could be in for more massive paydays if he lands bouts against Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury. In Joshua’s mind, only one of those fights appears to be feasible.

“Well, it seems like Deontay Wilder is more realistic because I just think that the stuff that goes on with Fury is a bit crazy, man.”

Joshua mentioned that he thinks Wilder is more hungry to fight him because he feels he needs to. He also said that at this point in both his and Wilder’s careers, it makes sense for the bout to take place. For now, however, Joshua will need to keep his focus on Franklin.

You can listen to the entire show below and subscribe to the Big Fight Weekend Podcast which is available on all audio podcast platforms.