Anthony Joshua would “love” the opportunity to unify his world heavyweight belts in a clash with Deontay Wilder, but insists he will not rush into any fight having seen off Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The Brit boxer, 30, reclaimed the WBA, IBF and WBO titles he lost to the Mexican-American on June 1, coming through the rematch at the Diriyah Arena to the north-west of Riyadh to win comfortably on a unanimous decision.
Joshua put together a cool and calculated performance to avenge the only defeat thus far in his professional career, which now stands at 23 victories from 24 bouts.
And, having become a two-time heavyweight champion, thoughts quickly turned to his desire to unify the division. That entails a potential bout with WBC title-holder Wilder, who is scheduled to meet Tyson Fury in their rematch in February.
Asked if he has sights on a possible unification bout, Joshua said: “Yeah, definitely. I would love to. It’s hard to keep them, to unite them. I’m sure PBC [promoters of both Ruiz and Wilder] were desperately rooting for Andy to win. But we came and put a spanner in the works. We’ll see what happens.
“If I’m chasing it, like in a fight I’m chasing the right hand, I’m chasing the left hook, it may come crashing down. And I realise that chasing a fight wasn’t to my benefit. So I’m just going to let the path take its course.
“I’ve got amazing people around me, a great team, and when the opportunity presents itself to be undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, you know me by now, I’m going to take the challenge.”
However, Wilder said early Sunday that a unification bout “would never happen”.
Joshua’s win against Ruiz, under the rain and in front of a capacity 15,000 crowd in Diriyah, was viewed by many as redemption for his shock loss in the summer. Back then, the unbeaten champion was expected to cruise past his opponent – a late replacement for Jarrell Miller – but he was knocked down four times en route to a TKO in the seventh round. It is considered one of the greatest upsets in boxing history.
Yet, having slumped to defeat and having climbed back to the summit, Joshua rejected suggestions it has been a year of lessons and learning.
“What have I learned? Nothing new,” he said. “It’s just what I’m built for. I just like fighting. It’s a shame, because everyone likes me fighting when I’m winning, but hate me when I lost. For me personally, looking at myself in the mirror, I just love fighting.
“I didn’t learn anything new. Before boxing I was a little fighter, I started boxing and I continued to fight. I just learned that I still love the game, that’s all it is.”
Meanwhile, Ruiz Jr has called for a rematch again after Anthony Joshua won back an array of world heavyweight titles in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, but the Mexican-American cannot expect to be at the front of the queue.
“Who wants to see the third trilogy fight right here? In Saudi Arabia baby,” Ruiz called out to the crowd at the Diriyah Arena.
Joshua had sounded receptive to the idea – “if you heard, we’re going to do it a third,” he said – but promoter Eddie Hearn would not be drawn after a bout won clinically on a unanimous points decision against a flabby-looking opponent.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks you for your concern towards this blog, share your view about this post by clicking on comment. Have a nice day ahead.
Place your Advert for as low as $10 call 08061154825