Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder said fellow champion Anthony Joshua would be “an easy fight for me” after watching the Englishman’s 10th-round TKO victory over Carlos Takam in Cardiff, Wales.
Anthony Joshua scores a 10th-round TKO victory over Carlos Takam on October 28, 2017 in Cardiff, Wales. (Matchroom Boxing)
Deontay Wilder expected a more dominant Anthony Joshua against the nearly 6-foot-2 Carlos Takam, who replaced injured Kubrat Pulev on 12 days notice.
Takam (35-4-1, 27 KOs) was cut over his right eye and dropped in the fourth by the 6-foot-6 Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs), whose career-high 254-pounds surpassed the 250 he weighed for an 11th-round stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko in April. The referee stopped the fight in the 10th round after Joshua landed some heavy blows, though Takam appeared to be holding his own.
“[Joshua] will show courage until he runs out of gas, then it’s life and death for him [against me,]” said Wilder, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. “Once he’s tired, I see him giving up. Once that happens, I’m going to turn up the heat on him and it’s a wrap. They may throw in the towel.”
Wilder was ringside in April at London’s Wembley Stadium as Joshua made his third defense against Klitschko, rising from the canvas in the sixth round and scoring knockdowns in the fifth and final round. Tyson Fury of England had dethroned Klitschko, 41, with a unanimous decision in November 2015.
“Joshua beat Klitschko when [Klitschko] had no belts,” said Wilder. “And he was coming off a [17-month] layoff and the loss to Tyson [Fury.] I’ve seen a lot I can exploit in Joshua that I’ll keep it to myself, but he ain’t ready for me.”
Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) is up next on the heavyweight stage. He has a rematch with Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Showtime (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). Last month Joseph Parker of New Zealand defended his version of the heavyweight title with a majority decision over Hughie Fury.
“ It’s the perfect time to display my talents as the real champion. After witnessing my skills, athleticism and power, fans can make direct comparisons. So, the truth will reveal itself that I’m the chosen king of the division.” ” WBC Heavyweight World Champ Deontay Wilder
The 6-foot-7 Wilder will be after his sixth straight knockout in as many defenses since dethroning Stiverne by unanimous decision on Jan. 17, 2015—the late Muhammad Ali’s 73rd birthday—to become America’s first heavyweight champion since Shannon Briggs in 2007.
Coming off a fifth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Gerald Washington in February, Wilder envisions a path toward becoming the division’s first unified world champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
“It’s the perfect time to display my talents as the real champion,” said Wilder, 32. “After witnessing my skills, athleticism and power, fans can make direct comparisons. So, the truth will reveal itself that I’m the chosen king of the division.”
After beating Takam, Joshua said he is willing to fight Wilder, but it wasn’t a firm commitment.
“[A Wilder fight] has to happen…for sure,” said Joshua, 28. “I have to fight the obligations as champion. Once I fulfill those, my door is open to fight anyone, be it Wilder or anyone else.”
For a complete look at Wilder vs Stiverne, visit our fight page.
- Topics
- Deontay Wilder
- Anthony Joshua
