Deontay Wilder has expressed his burning desire to face off against Anthony Joshua in Africa, that’s despite not yet getting past Saturday night’s opponent, Robert Helenius.
Wilder (42-2-1) and Joshua have long had on-and-off again discussions about a super fight between two of the modern heavyweight division greatest. Now it seems Wilder is committed to delivering the fight in the future.
‘Everywhere I go I hear people say me and Joshua, me and Joshua, and that’s the number one fight for them,’ Wilder said during a pre-press conference media scrum. ‘If that’s the number one fight in the world for me to have, that’s what I want.’
Deontay Wilder has expressed his burning desire to face off against Anthony Joshua in Africa
Wilder (42-2-1) and Joshua have long had on-and-off again discussions about a super fight
Wilder is hellbent on having the fight on the African continent despite lucrative offers available to the pair within the United Kingdom and the United States.
‘Africa, and solely Africa, you know, I mean? It haven’t been a fight there a long, long time [sic],’ he said.
‘It’d be a good fight, I mean just going back to the continent, you know, and being on the motherland, and place feet on the soil of there.’
Wilder spent most of the pre-fight press conference scrum fielding questions about his future rather than his present. Including entertaining the prospect of fighting current WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk — who will be ringside at the Barclays Center.
The Ukrainian has said he would be willing to fight Wilder if Tyson Fury isn’t an option.
‘I haven’t had any conversation with him,’ Wilder said of Usyk. ‘You know, I’m on the outside looking in… If he’s a man of his word, and certain people have validated yes, so I’m looking forward to him being a man of his word.’
American Wilder faces Robert Helenius first in Brooklyn, New York, this Saturday night
Despite failing to win any of the trilogy fights against Fury, Wilder seemed rejuvenated Thursday after setting foot in the arena which he claims as a ‘second home.’ His record is four knockouts from four fights in Brooklyn.
‘We just went back to the basics of the day, we went back to having fun and doing things and what got me here,’ Wilder said of his fight preparation.
‘Come Saturday night I don’t want people to think that I found a new style or anything like that. [I’m] just going back to the basics of things you know.’
Approaching his 38th birthday, the former heavyweight champ is under no illusions he is nearer to the end than the beginning — entering what he terms as the ‘second phase’ of his career. While ‘the grass is green’, he is still aiming to stay at the apex of the heavyweight division.
‘I’m not gonna stop picking up where I left off at,’ Wilder said. ‘I only have three years left guys and now those three years gonna go by super fast so with that being said, I don’t want to waste any time I don’t want to waste my time nor the fans’ time.’
Oleksandr Usyk has said he would be willing to fight Wilder if Tyson Fury isn’t an option
In a vast difference to his previous fights, Wilder’s bout with Helenius (31-3) has a tangible mutual love and admiration, as opposed to the animosity with Fury.
‘We have a relationship,’ Wilder said of his former sparring partner. ‘But once we get inside of the ring, that’s where it’s going to count.’
‘This is the only time where we’re in the ring where it really counts because other than that it’s just been sparring, where iron sharpening iron [sic].
‘We got a lot on the line, and I highly respect Robert he’s got a warrior heart and I’m looking forward to him testing his heart against my heart.’
Before the bout begins it is evident the Finnish-Swede does indeed have heart, and a desire to close in on his quarter-century dream of becoming heavyweight champion.
Despite failing to win any of the trilogy fights against Tyson Fury, Wilder seems rejuvenated
A win vs. Wilder is feasibly all he needs. At the very least it could put him in the picture, not that Helenius is allowing himself to romanticize the opportunity.
‘I can’t be thrilled yet because I haven’t achieved what I set out by going to be so if I start cheering now that means I’m okay with this situation,’ Helenius exclusively told Dailymail.com. ‘Of course, it’s been a tough, tough 25 years for me, it’s been ups and downs.’
Helenius has dealt with depression throughout his leaner years but it has placed him in Brooklyn, NY. just six miles from the city of dreams and 12 rounds closer to his own.
‘When nothing goes your way in boxing, you can struggle mentally, really powerfully and feel depressed and don’t want to do anything but what kept me floating was just going into training,’ he added.
‘I’ve been struggling towards World Championships for a long time, 25 years to be exact. So this is my big chance to shine.’
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