Anthony Joshua has fired back at Deontay Wilder after the American accused him of putting ‘excuses’ in place to avoid a future undisputed fight.
The former WBC champion has insisted he is going to win his belt back from Tyson Fury on July 24 and wants AJ to be just as keen to face him as he is about taking on the ‘Gypsy King’.
Joshua responded to Sky: “I don’t know what excuses he thinks I’m making, I’m a throwback fighter, check the résumé, I’ve been in with all of them.
“I’ll fight them all, Wilder’s just another one in the pecking order, no problem.
“I don’t know what excuses he’s talking about.
“Talk is cheap, it’s the cheapest thing to buy on Earth.
“I’m an elite level fighter, I’m not one of those tomato cans he’s knocked out.
“He better watch what he’s saying and have a reality check because when the day comes for me and him, I know what I’m capable of doing.”
When asked if he believes Wilder could lose his status as elite level if he’s beaten by Fury again, AJ replied: “He ain’t an elite level fighter.
“He ain’t, he ain’t an elite level fighter in my opinion.
“He’s good, it’s heavyweights, so they always know one punch can change the course of a fight.
“But I’ve never, ever seen in the heavyweight division a fighter going to war with one weapon in his arsenal – which is his right hand.
“When you get to the top level, trust me, that don’t last anymore, that doesn’t work.
“As we’ve seen now, he struggles at the top level and there’s a lot more of us waiting for that opportunity to kick his arse.
“So he’s gonna struggle when he comes to fight people like myself and other heavyweights.”
Regarding who he wants to emerge victorious when Fury and Wilder meet again, Joshua concluded: “If I’m honest, I don’t mind.
“Fury? Wilder? Bring them both. I’m not taking sides.
“They’re both enemies of mine and I wanna slay them both with the same energy.
“Good luck to both of them, whichever one wins, I’ll be seeing them soon.”